Staff Writer
State power utility NamPower will officially inaugurate its Sekelduin Substation near Swakopmund on 22 June, marking the completion of what the utility says is Africa’s first fully digital electricity substation.
The 132/66/33kV indoor substation, located about eight kilometres east of Swakopmund, was successfully commissioned and energised on 24 September 2025 following a total investment of N$394 million.
According to NamPower, the Sekelduin Substation has been designed to accommodate growing electricity demand along Namibia’s coast while modernising grid operations and improving the reliability of power supply.
The utility says the facility represents a significant milestone in the country’s energy infrastructure and sets a new benchmark for digital substations on the African continent.
The official inauguration ceremony will take place at the Sekelduin Substation near Swakopmund.
The project station is the first fully digital substation on the African continent.
The substation is fed from the Kuiseb Substation, about 35 kilometres southeast of Sekelduin, through two parallel 132 kV overhead power lines.
This setup improves network robustness and reduces the risk of a single failure affecting coastal nodes.
NamPower has said the new infrastructure adds to its transmission network, unlocks coastal load growth, strengthens reliability, and prepares the Erongo region grid for the future.
The digital design uses process and station bus systems, which cut down on copper cable runs, improve remote asset monitoring, enhance fault location accuracy, and strengthen cyber-secure supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) integration.
This also helps address copper-theft risks.
According to NamPower, the digital application also provides a platform for future artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) integration, positioning NamPower among the top utilities in the world.
The company has said that the Sekelduin Substation marks a decisive step-change in Namibia’s transmission architecture and a continental first, conceived, engineered, and delivered by Africans.
