Cathodic Protection (CP) and electrical engineering specialists, BAC Corrosion Control Ltd (BAC), have secured a prestigious contract with National Grid, owner and operator of Great Britain’s high pressure natural gas pipeline network, to manufacture and supply Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) units.
Design engineer Jason Peters explains what the new innovations of the units are.
“We have worked very closely with National Grid’s engineers to develop a new design which incorporates our SMPS units which provide a fully integrated system with the existing National Grid CP infrastructure. SMPS units have excellent controllability, and low output ripple and are light weight. The units are designed to integrate fully with National Grid’s remote monitoring system, which allow the units to be synchronously switched remotely and instantaneous off potentials collected.”
The units will be housed in a glass reinforced plastic roadside kiosk for easy and safe access.
An initial order of 151 of the specialist units have been ordered as part of a 3 year contract. The new units will begin to be installed this year by National Grid as part of their replacement programme.
Following many years of working together, the contract (potentially worth initially in excess of £1 million) between BAC and National Grid proves the credibility of BAC as a company and it’s products, some of which are new to the market. The contract will allow BAC to showcase its range of electrical engineering products as the SMPS units will eventually be rolled out over the whole gas network.