Air base substation commissioned as hottest months near
STATE-RUN energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) has commissioned a 115kV high-voltage substation to supply Phnom Penh residents with power as demand soars, according to its director-general Keo Rottanak.
He said the facility, also known as “Grid Substation Airforce”, is located on 3,375sqm just north of the Pochentong Air Base compound, in Por Sen Chey district’s Kakab commune, adjacent to Phnom Penh International Airport.
The substation has a conversion capacity of 75 megavoltamperes (MVA) with 115kV overhead lines to connect with Grid Substation No 3 (GS3) in
Sen Sok district’s O’Bek Ka’am commune and deliver electricity to Por Sen Chey, Dangkor and Sen Sok districts, according to Rottanak.
“This launch comes timely as the hot season approaches, accompanied by the strong increase in electricity consumption in the area, and will alleviate overload from surrounding substations and increase the efficiency of supply to Phnom Penh as well,” he said.
April and May are the hottest months of the year in Phnom Penh in terms of average temperatures, according to holidayweather.com.
Victor Jona, the director-general of the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s General Department of Energy, told The Post that
substations in Phnom Penh receive an electricity mix from various sources, including fossil and hydropower sources.
He noted that power from the substation would “enhance the stability and security of the city’s energy supply”.
According to Jona, Cambodia
would not face a shortage of electricity this year, adding that the Kingdom boasts 3,000MW of capacity in the rainy season and 2,200MW in the dry season.
Rottanak noted that Grid Substation Airforce would be equipped with an additional
75MVA transformer in the future to increase conversion capacity to 150MVA and better meet the electricity demands of residents, as well as the airport, Booyoung Town, Attwood Business Centre and the many commercial buildings and shopping malls dotting the districts.