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Glasgow International Airport

Background

Glasgow International Airport is Scotland’s principal long-haul gateway, with year-round flights to Canada, the United States, and the Gulf. More than 7.5 million passengers use the airport every year, flying to around 90 destinations worldwide. The airport takes its electricity supply at 11kV, and has its own HV network. Quartzelec are contracted by UK Power Networks to control, operate, and maintain the network on behalf of the end-user, BAA.

The Project

During routine maintenance, Quartzelec advised that the 11kV ring main units on the East and West ring circuits should be considered for replacement due to their age and the number of applicable operational restrictions on that type of switchgear.

Two replacement programmes were devised, in conjunction with UK Power Networks, for 7 ring main units on the East and West ring circuits. Quartzelec performed all the required works on site, including the switching, cable jointing and terminations, earthing, testing and commissioning.

The condition of the existing gear and the operational restrictions placed upon it, meant that Quartzelec had to develop much more elaborate switching programmes in order to maintain supplies to the airport during the works. Diesel generator sets were used where a power outage couldn’t be avoided, so that the disruption to the normal operation of the airport was kept to an absolute minimum.

Like all of our HV customers, UK Power Networks and BAA place a very high emphasis on health and safety, and the works were subject to a joint client-contractor audit which resulted in no non-conformances.

Outcome

Quartzelec’s experience of working airside, where the health and safety, and security requirements are particularly onerous, ensured that the works were completed seamlessly alongside the day-to-day operation.

CS49