The integrity of cellular phone services provided by the MTN network relies upon sophisticated dual redundant secure power supply systems.

A system upgrade, designed, supplied and installed by Master Power Technologies, the Randburg-based specialist in secure power back-up solutions, was recently completed at MTN’s switching centre in Newlands, Johannesburg.

The upgrade involved the removal of the old existing distribution panels, UPS units, batteries and diesel generator sets. The old equipment was replaced with new equipment which has effectively doubled the power capacity at the switching centre.
 
The upgrade took place over a four-week period in September and of necessity, major cut-over work was carried out late at night and over weekends. To ensure that the centre remained operational at all times, a portable containerised 2200kVA Diesel Generator plus energy distribution centre was installed at the site, providing temporary supply at critical cut-over times.

“We also had to replace all of the existing busbars at the Newlands site,” said Menno Parsons, managing director of Master Power. “This was a considerable task and, in a nutshell, the work amounted to a complete revamp of the secure power supply at the facility, which was first established some 15 years ago. It was critical that we kept the data centre fully functional during the upgrade.”

The scope of work included replacing the four diesel generators – 2 x 1600kVA and 2 x 800kVA units were replaced with 2 x 2200kVA and 2 x 1600kVA gensets. This also entailed replacing the main incoming switchgear and generator set change over panels. New incoming 4000A busbars were installed and connected to the input panel and busbar reticulation from the gensets varied in size from 3200A to 2500A.
 
The existing 6 x 300kVA UPS units were replaced with 8 x 500kVA UPS units and associated batteries providing a dual redundant secure solution.

The integrity of the MTN systems is paramount because any downtime is very costly and it is critical that the data centres, such as the Newlands facility, operate without interruption.

“The secure power design and configuration continues to evolve in all of the  secure power installations undertaken by Master Power for MTN up to the present,” added Parsons.
 

Master Power has also developed a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system that monitors the environment, the generator sets, UPS units, switchboards, fuel supply systems and temperatures, air conditioning, cooling systems and the operational status of the secure power infrastructure.

The SCADA system is a fit-for-purpose design for each specific application. It enables SMSing and emailing of alarms and provides weekly reports through a power report writing software. It operates on dual servers with a 1 gigabyte optical fibre backbone.
 
Within these projects the innovations in terms of power supply, control, monitoring, alarm systems, automation, system design and installation techniques are considered best practice, as are Master Power’s preferred products, including Chloride / Emerson static UPS,  MTU standby diesel generators and the company’s fit-for-purpose SCADA monitoring and alarm systems.

Master Power provides support and services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Dedicated support structures ensure rapid reaction to any situation. The secure power systems it has developed are among the best in the world, if not the best, concludes Parsons.

About Master Power Technologies:
Master Power technologies is a specialist in the supply, installation, support and servicing of a wide range of power back-up solutions both large and small.  The company’s expertise extends to UPS systems, generators Rotary UPS systems, Rectifiers, batteries and other back-up power systems. Solutions are provided to the telecommunications, financial services and data centre industries, as well as other market sectors where power supply is critical and operational downtime cannot be tolerated. The company has offices and design and manufacturing facilities in Randburg.

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Dave McDermott +27 11 478-2055 or 082 608-0019
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ON BEHALF OF:  MASTER POWER TECHNOLOGIES
Neill Schreiber +27 11 792 7230
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