Sharm El Sheik, Egypt: On the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference (COP27), the first phase of the pre-opening of the Control Center of South Sinai, located in Sharm El Sheikh and built and equipped by Schneider Electric’s solutions, was officially announced today in the attendance of Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy; Eng. Osama Asran, Deputy Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy; Eng. Gaber Desouky, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company; a number of the ministry’s officials; and Schneider Electric team led by Sebastien Riez, Cluster President of Schneider Electric Northeast Africa & Levant; and Eng. Mohamed El Sotouhy, Director of the Control Centers Program at Schneider Electric. The announcement aligns with the Country’s strategy to develop the national electricity distribution network to become the first smart grid in the Middle East and promote sustainability. These distribution control centers, renovated and digitized by Schneider Electric, help reduce CO2 emissions by around 3,200 tons per distribution control center annually. This leads to reducing carbon footprint, promoting sustainability, ensuring energy efficiency, reducing technical losses by 5% and reducing power generation by almost 2%.

Schneider Electric announced that it has already finalized the first phase of the Distribution Control Center in Sharm El Sheikh and is currently working on the final execution phases of the four distribution control centers that are already operating in New Cairo, Nasr City, Dokki and 6th of October with a total cost of EGP 4.6 billion. A total of 3,900 electrical sites of the distribution network were renovated including electrical kiosks, distribution points and substations. Additionally, Schneider Electric has signed the Construction Completion Certificate (CCC) for North Cairo distribution centers (namely New Cairo and Nasr City) and 6th of October and is currently working on the final phases (Availability Test) before the full delivery of the project. Investing in human resources, Schneider Electric has delivered full training for the technical calibers from the distribution companies responsible for operating the distribution centers to ensure continuity and quality of the offered service.

The renovation and digitizing of the control centers come as part of the mutual agreement between the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and Schneider Electric to build and renovate a number of distribution control centers across the country using its EcoStruxure Grid and ADMS software. Thanks to Schneider Electric’s solutions and technologies, each of the renovated distribution control centers can now monitor, control and reconfigure the network based on data inputs that contribute to achieving energy efficiency, reducing downtime and losses across the network, ensuring smart distribution of power and planning of future loads based on the needs of each area within the span of the distribution control center in addition to preventative maintenance which ultimately enhances the overall quality of the service provided.

The Distribution Control Center in Sharm El Sheikh is the 5th of its kind as part of the plan and the first to be renovated using Schneider Electric’s solutions outside Greater Cairo and it will serve all South Sinai cities.

Dr. Mohamed Shaker said that this project comes as part of the Ministry’s plan to build and develop 47 distribution control centers across the electricity distribution network in phases geographically distributed across the country. These centers will be able to monitor the electricity distribution network and optimize its performance to meet the demands of the growing population in addition to the industrial needs. He also reiterated the fruitful cooperation between the electricity sector and Schneider Electric as the company contributes to many of the sector’s projects.

Sebastien Riez, Cluster President of Schneider Electric Northeast Africa & Levant, said “Since its launch last week, COP27 has witnessed a series of significant openings, activities, and joint projects for Schneider Electric with its partners in Egypt. This is a testament to the strong ties we have with the Egyptian Government and all our partners in this key leading market. Today, we witness the pre-opening of the Distribution Control Center in Sharm El Sheikh in the presence of H.E. Eng. Mohamed Sharker Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy which represents the latest addition to our ambitious collaboration with the ministry to renovate the distribution control centers leveraging the latest solutions and technologies from Schneider Electric.”

On his part, Eng. Mohamed El Sotouhy, Director of the Control Centers Program at Schneider Electric commented “the renovation and digitization of the distribution control centers project is one of the key projects Schneider Electric is currently working on in Egypt. This is a fast-track project to ensure these distribution control centers are capable of meeting future energy demands, reaching energy efficiency, and reducing CO2 emissions to achieve sustainability. This is the first distribution control center to be equipped by EVlink chargers from Schneider Electric to power electrical cards in line with the environmental requirements of the City of Sharm El Sheikh. At the same time, these control centers greatly encourage local electrical product manufacturing, especially that the percentage of local components in the distribution control centers will reach 50% in the second phase of the project.”

In addition to the pre-opening of the Distribution Control Center in Sharm El Sheikh, Schneider Electric has announced the launch of several initiatives in collaboration with South Sinai governorate in line with COP27 that include the opening of Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Hub in Shram El Sheikh, The Green Challenge Competition for King Salman International University students and providing EVlink chargers for electrical cars.

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