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Power Engineering
November 2000 • Issue No. 48 • Volume XV • Number 3

Transmission & Distribution

Meeting the Need: Transmission System Expansion in Qatar

By Jeff Larkin, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, +44 1912 262399, larkinj@pbworld.com

Some of the measures taken to meet a 100 percent increase in demand for
electricity in Qatar in less than 20 years are described in this article, including some
to meet the severe ambient conditions in the area.

Qatar's Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) employed PB Power as owner's engineer to manage the extension of
the country's 132 kV and 66 kV systems. Located between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar is an oil-rich
peninsula that juts into the gulf off Saudi Arabia. The country is largely flat with its highest point being only 50 m
(165 feet) above sea level. It covers an area of 120 000 km2 (45,000 square miles) and has a population of about
half a million. Its climate is typical of the Middle East; maximum ambient temperature into the mid 40s C (around
110° F) during its summer and never going much below 10°C (50° F) during its winter.

In 1987, system demand was just over 1000 MW. It was forecast to increase to 1400 MW by 1995, a healthy growth
rate of about 3.5 percent a year, and reach nearly 1700 MW by 2000. These figures have subsequently been revised
upwards. The demand for 2000 was expected to be 1725 MW and increase to nearly 2000 MW by 2005. The Qatari's
have the problem of keeping abreast of growing system demand both in terms of generation capacity and
distribution capacity.

Overview of System
The planned system would comprise a 220 kV system that would connect a power station in the north to the rest of
the system at three points via 220/132 kV and 220/66 kV transformers feeding the existing local 66 kV network. The
existing 132 kV system also feeds into the 66 kV network at almost 20 locations around Doha, and it forms a lengthy
ring that connects the more remote parts of the Qatar system, generally operating at 66 kV.

Part of our design concept report had to include a load flow, fault level and relay setting studies, and transient
stability studies. We collected the data needed for these studies during the site investigation, which considered all of
the proposed substation locations, cable routes, substation extensions and an inspection of the overhead lines. The
fault level studies resulted in us specifying a 40 kA short circuit rating for 132-kV equipment and a 25 kA rating for
66-kV equipment.

The transient stability studies were used to determine the critical fault clearance times. Results indicated that the
critical fault clearance time was 100 milliseconds, which is an onerous target that requires very fast protection and
communication devices. Longer times were possible for remote faults on the 220 kV and 132 kV systems. These
results were then worked into the switchgear and protection equipment specifications.

Having decided on the system configuration and the basic parameters of the plant, the next step was to design the
system components, which included:

Eight new substations

Eight substation extensions

Twelve substation auxiliary system modifications

Eleven new 66 kV cable circuits

132 kV overhead line diversions and refurbishment

Protection system improvements.

The ambient conditions under which the plant would operate are very severe, but typical of the Middle East. The high
ambient temperatures resulted in considerable de-rating of the electrical plant.

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Substations
Many of the existing substations on the network were outdoor open terminals. They had proven to be very unreliable
because the heavy saline dust atmosphere results in a heavy build up of pollution on the surface of the insulators,
which results in flashovers. This problem is encountered elsewhere in the region, particularly on overhead lines, and
has resulted in a periodic maintenance and cleaning programme for all outdoor insulators.

The extensions of the existing substation arrangements were based on a single busbar configuration. We were
confident that such a configuration would provide a satisfactory level of security for this system, and adopted the
same configuration for all new 132 kV, 66 kV and 11 kV substations, the largest of which was the Old Airport
substation.

Old Airport substation had an existing live 132 kV overhead line so it was
necessary to establish a switching station adjacent to it. The proposed
plan, which was implemented eventually, was to build the 132 kV
substation directly under the existing line, thereby minimising
modifications needed to the line itself. The line was diverted onto gantry
landing structures, a move that made space for building the substation
and enabled the operator to keep the line in service throughout the
construction works (Figures 1 and 2). Once the substation was complete,
the by-pass connections were removed and the lines were dropped into
the new substation.

Old Airport substation was intended to be the pro forma. It contained all
of the elements present in the other substations because it housed a 132 Figure 1: Overhead Line Diversion at
kV and 66 kV gas insulated switchgear (GIS) switch-house, 132/66 and Old Airport Substation
66/11 kV transformers and an 11 kV substation. Once the contractor
designed this substation and obtained approval, the other substation
arrangements were built up in modular form. Also, the contract scope of
work and pricing structure had all been set out to facilitate this type of
approach.

On the 11 kV side, MEW had been using bulk oil circuit breakers for many
years, many of them sourced from England's northeast region. MEW had
started to introduce vacuum circuit breakers onto their network,
however, and wanted to move away from oil. The problem with this
change was that the operations staff had had many years of experience
on oil-filled equipment and did not want to change their operational
procedures, so it was agreed with the client that vacuum circuit breakers
should be specified, but with a detailed specification to reproduce the Figure 2: Bypass and Transformers
operational features of the bulk oil circuit breakers. Installed at Old Airport Substations.

Each substation was provided with:

Twelve fully equipped 11 kV feeder panels

Two fully equipped transformer panels

One fully equipped bus section panel.

Every 11 kV substation was identical, therefore, and the design could just be reproduced at each site. Our
responsibilities ended at the 11 kV switchgear. After they had been installed and tested, MEW would come in and
cable up to the new switchgear.

Transformers
Two types of transformers were required:

150 MVA, 132/66 kV

36 MVA, 66/11 kV.

The 132 kV earth fault level at Gharafa, MEW's largest open-terminal 132 kV substation, was the limiting condition
for sizing the high voltage/low voltage impedance of the new 150 MVA transformers, which were selected so as not
to exceed the 66 kV switchgear fault rating of 2500 MVA.

The impedances for the 36 MVA 66/11 kV transformers were selected to limit the 11 kV switchgear fault level to less
than 350 MVA.

Auxiliary System Modifications

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Insulator Washing. A number of substation modifications to be carried out involved adding new switchgear bays,
converting existing bays from one function to another and modifying auxiliary systems. One such modification was
the addition of insulator washing equipment to existing open terminal substations. The aim was to prevent the
pollution build up mentioned earlier from causing flashovers and subsequent circuit outages.

An insulator washing system can take a number of forms:

A completely portable system that is hand-operated from a water tanker

Permanent spray nozzles that can be connected up to a water tanker and pump

A completely permanent, self-contained system that is either manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic.

We recommended a manually initiated semi-automatic permanent system that could be operated from one point in
the substation.

Cables. The installation conditions for the new 66 kV cables, which were to be direct buried, are very severe in
Qatar. The ground is very rocky in Doha, dry and arid. In addition, a ground temperature of 35° C (95° F) and a
thermal resistivity of 2.50 Km/W had to be used for rating purposes.

The ratings that could be achieved in these conditions are only a fraction of those that could be achieved under
standard UK conditions with a resistivity of 1.2 km/W and a ground temperature of 15°C (48° F). In most cases a
de-rating factor of between 0.5 and 0.6 had to be applied.

We recommended cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulated cable with a lead sheath for the new cable circuits,
which formed a large part of the system expansion, because of the considerable amount of load growth forecast on
the system. This cable has a much lower capacitance than oil-filled paper cable and results in much lower charging
currents, so the associated surplus reactive power on the system is lower. We estimated that if paper-insulated cable
were used instead of XLPE, there would be an additional increase of 150 MVA in cable charging capacity by 1995.
Such an increase would require an additional small power station just to supply the charging current.

Another reason for recommending XLPE cables was that MEW had been experiencing considerable problems with oil
leaks with its existing 66 kV low-pressure oil-filled paper cables. In addition, the lead sheath could then act as a
moisture barrier to protect the XLPE and also as the path for the earth fault current. (Aluminum is unsuitable in this
environment because of problems with corrosion.) We also specified copper conductors because of the large de-
rating factor that has to be applied.

Overhead Lines. The overhead line work to be undertaken was mainly repair work that involved replacing corroded
stubs on 82 km (51 miles) of 66 kV overhead line. In addition, there was the turn-in of the overhead line to Old
Airport substation and the dismantling of an existing 66 kV line.

Implementation
Having agreed on the specification and outline design with the client, we then issued the enquiry documents and
carried out the tender adjudications. After negotiations, the contracts were awarded.

One of the main elements of the substation contract was the GIS switchgear, which was being sourced from Energo-
invest of Yugoslavia. Two shipments of GIS had been delivered and two further shipments were near completion
when the civil war in Yugoslavia erupted and the fighting trapped the switchgear in the Sarajevo factory. The
contractor was then faced with finding an alternative switchgear supplier, a change that took considerable time and
caused a significant delay. The replacement equipment was eventually approved, however, and installed at Race
Course and Al Bidda Substations (Figure 3).

After we had overcome the problems produced by one civil war, the
Iraqis invaded Kuwait and started launching Scud missiles at members of
the coalition forces. None actually hit Qatar, but families were evacuated
as a precaution and those who remained had their escape routes planned
just in case they were needed.

Project is Near Completion

A significant aspect of this project was that it was structured into three
turnkey contract packages (overhead lines, substations and cables) and
then awarded to contractors from three different countries-India, Italy
and France respectively. This approach led to some interesting contract
meetings and a very international approach to the job. Figure 3: Gas Insulated Swithchgear
at Race Course Substation

We have reached a stage where all of the substations, cable and

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overhead line work has been completed and we are in the process of issuing Final Certificates at the end of the
contractual warranty period. MEW is also working on the next phase of the system expansion plan, which is required
to meet the ever-increasing power needs of this rapidly developing country.

Jeff Larkin graduated in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and spent 10 years with GEC Switchgear working on all aspects of
substation construction, installation and commissioning. He then joined what was then Merz and McLellan which became part of PB
early in 1996. At PB, he developed his project management skills and has been taking a leading role since then in implementing
transmission projects.

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