Progress Energy Selects ABB's Transformers

Progress Energy has reportedly selected ABB's HCEP medium voltage instrument transformers for their smart grid implementation plans, confirming the utility's focus on high-quality solutions for the future evolution of the US power grid.

 

Officials said that since its introduction in 2006, ABB's HCEP outdoor medium voltage instrument transformer has become recognized as the most advanced solution for metering and relaying applications ranging from 5 kV to 52 kV. HCEP, which stands for Hydrophobic Cycloaliphatic Epoxy, is an advanced insulating material designed to improve weatherability and reliability in all outdoor environments, including the most aggressive coastal and polluted areas.

 

Company officials said that the increased life-expectancy and reliability of the HCEP product will help reduce Progress Energy's maintenance costs by minimizing the risks of costly substation power outages, and ultimately improving its smart grid reliability.

Over the next 18 months, the ABB operation in Pinetops, North Carolina will provide Progress Energy more than 400 HCEP instrument transformers. These units will be installed at over 140 substations in North Carolina and South Carolina, providing regulated voltage inputs to the Progress Energy DSCADA system.

 

Each substation will utilize one set of three potential transformers, allowing the Raleigh, NC based utility to accurately determine substations' regulator tap positions. This will keep voltage levels in substations within an acceptable and controllable bandwidth, thus avoiding undesirable conditions for their connected customers.

 

Officials said that the HCEP instrument transformer is an ideal solution for smart grid applications. The hydrophobic property of the HCEP material causes water to bead on the surface of the instrument transformer, thus reducing overall wetting of the unit, and the consequent risk of discharge activity, and ultimately, erosion.

 

The optimized geometry of the shed designs also eliminates the risk of water accumulation, regardless of the mounting configuration. These critical features, along with the higher creep distance and better cantilever strength, make the ABB HCEP product the most advanced medium voltage instrument transformer in the industry.