ACTOM MV Switchgear was recently contracted by electrical engineering consultants for the City of Cape Town to design, manufacture and supply Type B and Type C minisubs for residential areas where these types of minisubs are required for distribution of power.
“Cape Town is unique in the country as a user of Type C minisubs, while Type B minisubs are used in other parts of Cape Town and most other urban areas around South Africa,” said Rhett Kelly, MV Switchgear’s Design & Development Manager.
“Both B and C Type minisubs incorporate a medium voltage ring main unit to enable the minisub to be incorporated in the MV ring type cable networks – enabling the efficient reconfiguration of the network to restore power in the event of an MV cable fault,” he explained.
“Whereas minisub primary voltage for most of South Africa is 11kV, for the City of Cape Town the Type B and Type C minisub primary voltages are 11,5kV and 11,66kV respectively.
“The type C layout differs substantially from the others. For example, it has a smaller footprint than the Type B minisub and the layout of the ring main unit and other components is configured differently from the other two types,” Rhett commented.
“The low voltage compartment has been designed with dimensions aligned with the overall minisub enclosure so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance – a unique feature of the ACTOM design,” he added
The recent orders, received via ACTOM Electrical Products’ Cape Town branch, were the first MV Switchgear has had for the City of Cape Town.
The first, placed by the Cape Town based electrical engineering consultancy Raubicon in mid-2021, was for two Type B minisubs for a new residential development in Pinehurst, Cape Town. The contract, completed and delivered in November last year, was for 315kVA and 800kVA minisubs.
This was followed at the end of 2021 by an order from GJA Consulting Engineers for a single 800kVA Type C minisub for a major development currently under way in Guguletu near Cape Town International Airport.
