Mains Voltage Stabilisers: How they Empower The Growth Of A Nation With Voltage Stabilisation

Case Study For U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea

As one of the 163 U.S. Embassies spread around the world, the U.S. diplomatic mission based in Port Moresby has for years pursued aligned interests and cooperative relationships with the people of its host country, Papua New Guinea.

Photos at the end

The Problem:
Fundamentally Flawed

Home to a highly dispersed and remote population, 87% of Papua New Guineans live in rural areas while the country itself relies heavily on industries such as agriculture and energy extraction as sources of revenue. 

At the time, the existing 3-phase nominal voltage across Papua New Guinea stood at 415V.

Despite the local government’s stipulated tolerance of a 4-6% fluctuation from the grid operator, our calculations pointed to a potential voltage drop of about 13% or more. 

The Official Residences in Port Moresby were also suffering from drastic Voltage Fluctuations caused by poor power quality from the main incoming supply. This led to malfunctions of electronic, electrical appliances and even flickering lighting issues in the estates.

These incoming voltage values proved detrimental to the operational uptime in the entire Embassy’s compound.

Identifying The Hidden Risks

At the time, the existing 3-phase nominal voltage across Papua New Guinea stood at 415V.

Despite the local government’s stipulated tolerance of a 4-6% fluctuation from the grid operator, our calculations pointed to a potential voltage drop of about 13% or more. 

These incoming voltage values proved detrimental to the operational uptime in the entire Embassy’s compound. 

Switching On Democracy With Voltage Stability

Faced with these unique challenges in Papua New Guinea, the U.S. Embassy turned to Ashley Edison Global for a permanent yet cost-effective solution that would enable them to optimise their ground operations with ease.

Responding quickly to this call for assistance, in 2007, Ashley Edison deployed a multitude of Automatic Voltage Stabilisers of up to 120 KVA within the U.S. embassy’s offices, staff residences, living quarters and housing estates in Papua New Guinea.

The Ashley Edison (UK) Solution

Ashley Edison’s industry-leading Electro-Mechanical Servo Electronic Design (SES) Automatic Voltage Stabilisers have repeatedly proven their durability and dependability in some of the world’s harshest and most demanding power environments — and they outperformed all expectations amidst the unpredictable climate and terrain in Papua New Guinea.

The SES Series – Automatic Voltage Stabiliser offers ideal power protection for 3-phase applications that demand highly precise output regulation. These voltage stabilizers are based on Electro-Mechanical Servo Electronic Design, which boasts reliability, and low operating costs for more than 95% of all applications. 

This specified Automatic Voltage Stabiliser series includes:

• Electro-Mechanical Servo Electronic Design
• Stepless Voltage Regulation for high precision (± 0.5% voltage accuracy)
• Forced-Air Cooling for improved operational efficiency (field-tested with >98% efficiency)
• Independent Phase Balancing & Control: Automatic voltage sensing & precise regulation to ensure the individual phase voltages remain stable – regardless of load change or unbalance.
• Transient Voltage Surge Protection (TVSS) to protect critical loads against harmful high energy surges, transients and spikes.
• Exceptionally wide input voltage tolerance that constantly regulates erratic voltage fluctuations.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Delivering a total of more than 76 Automatic Voltage Stabilisers of up to 1,250 KVA to U.S Embassies, French Embassies, Singapore Embassies, and other Consulates in challenging locations such as Timor Leste, Nepal, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Djibouti. 

The operational versatility, combined with the resilience of high-quality equipment made Ashley Edison Global a natural fit for the job to help The U.S. Embassy successfully safeguard their operations – by ensuring regulated voltage distribution, and delivering clean, constant access to one of the most crucial necessities of life in the developing world.

The Results

Freed from the threat of voltage irregularities and unplanned operational downtime, our client could now turn their full attention towards the furtherance of diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea and aid in the nation’s political, economic and social transformation.

With the presence of more reliable electrical infrastructure within Papua New Guinea, we can be assured of the future progress, resilience and growth of the country as it charges towards a brighter tomorrow. 

To learn more on how to optimise your electrical system and protect your uptime, drop us an email at sales@ashleyedison.com.

For more case studies on how the military sector is leveraging these industry techniques, read the comprehensive report here.