Delgaz Grid completes 4.7 million euro Vicov substation upgrade in Romania

Distribution network operators across Eastern Europe face the continuous challenge of modernising legacy electrical infrastructure to meet modern grid stability and automation requirements. The completion of the Vicov substation project by Delgaz Grid highlights how targeted investments in primary distribution assets and supervisory systems directly strengthen regional supply security.

The operational scope involved a comprehensive renewal of high-voltage and medium-voltage primary apparatus at the 110/20 kV facility located in Suceava County. By replacing aging primary switchgear, circuit breakers, and instrument transformers, the distribution network operator substantially reduces localised outage risks while safeguarding core power transformer units against harmful secondary fault stresses. The project represents a total capital investment of 4.7 million euros, equivalent to 5.2 million dollars or 25.48 million local currency.

A critical dimension of this investment is the full integration of the facility into a centralised SCADA system. Remote telemetry and control capabilities are essential for distribution utilities managing remote loads and expanding renewable energy connections. Incorporating sub-transmission nodes like Vicov into supervisory architectures provides control room operators with real-time situational awareness, rapid fault isolation mechanisms, and automated network reconfiguration options.

Substation revamps of this scale demonstrate the operational necessity of combining primary hardware replacements with modern digital secondary systems. Asset managers must ensure that switchgear upgrades align with digital protection schemes to fully realize the benefits of automated telemetry and remote switching capabilities.

What this means for asset owners in the Balkans and the Black Sea region: Distribution utilities and asset managers in Romania and surrounding markets must prioritise secondary control integration alongside primary switchgear replacement during capital refurbishment programmes. Upgrading legacy 110/20 kV assets to modern telemetry standards significantly lowers local outage risks, reduces dispatch response times during unplanned events, and creates the digital foundation needed to accommodate increasing regional renewable energy feeds without compromising operational grid stability.