UK to Invest £2bn in Replacement Transformers
Forecast
Reliable sources1 indicate that the UK Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) will invest nearly £2bn on replacement transformers in the 10 year period 2002-2012. The annual figure for 2002-03 is estimated to be around £100m. This will then increase year-on-year for the next 15 years, peaking in 2018 at about £250m per year.
These figures relate to replacement plant rated at 132kV and below. Total expenditure increases further when transformers operating at higher voltages are taken into account and when new plant required to meet the demands of load growth is included.
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With this in mind, Transformer World makes the following observations:
Considerations for Manufacturers
Transformer manufacturers should now be addressing some fundamental questions such as:
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Who are the RECs planning to buy from? |
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Am I certain of getting my share of the market? |
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Can I meet the demand? |
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Do I know enough about my competitors? |
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What will make me the customer's choice? |
Considerations for Asset Owners
Similarly transformer owners should be asking themselves some fundamental questions such as:
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Do I have a short, medium and long term replacement programme? |
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Are my specifications still relevant? |
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Will my normal suppliers be able to meet my needs? |
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Do I know enough about the global market place? |
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How can I reduce my costs? |
A Few Thoughts
The success of this major investment programme may well depend upon the level of mutual understanding and trust that develops between suppliers and their customers. This will have to take account of a variety of issues including the requirement for new investment in manufacturing, innovation, the availability of technical and craft skills, labour and material costs, currency exchange rates, network risk, power system design, contractor availability, safety, the environment and the need to produce high quality plant at low cost. Furthermore, the disposal of old plant will be a major task.
Success must be engineered. Now is the time for vision, imagination, integration and implementation.
1 Bailey D I, Douglas J A K, Castro Sayas F, and Morris C H, 'Application of Benchmarking to Distribution Companies' 10 Billion Dollar Investment Plans', CIRED2001 Paper 5.5.