GE said one of its units has signed a new agreement with the Saudi Electricity Company to set up four new 132kV substations and renovate four existing 132kV substations in bid to boost the kingdom's distribution infrastructure.

As per the deal, GE Energy Connections will deliver the four new substations as turnkey projects that include engineering, design, civil work, supply of gas insulated switchgears (GIS), power transformers, and control and automation.

Together the eight substations have a capacity of 1,141 MW, enough to supply power to up to 15,000 Saudi homes, said the statement from GE.

Located on a plain between soaring mountains and the Red Sea, the Baish region in Jazan Province is witnessing significant economic development – driven by the Jazan Economic City, the Saudi Aramco Jazan Complex and other infrastructure and industrial projects, it stated.

This development requires power and the reliable transmission and distribution infrastructure necessary to get it to homes and factories across the region.

As with the new substations, the renovated substations will benefit from advanced control and automation solutions that will help SEC better manage the grid and achieve more reliable power delivery, said the US technology giant.

GE has been a partner to the Kingdom for more than eight decades. It has more than 2,000 employees in the Kingdom, with 50 per cent of staff in highly skilled engineering and technology roles, and a Saudization rate of 70 per cent, it added.-TradeArabia News Service