A Global First: TGOOD Becomes the First Company Worldwide to Be Prequalified by Saudi Electricity Company as a Qualified Manufacturer of 380kV Prefabricated Substations

TGOOD has officially received an approval letter from Saudi Electricity Company (SE), confirming that its high-voltage prefabricated substations rated up to 380kV have been included in SE’s list of qualified manufacturers. This milestone makes TGOOD the first company worldwide to be recognised as a qualified supplier of 380kV prefabricated substations under SE’s qualification system.

This qualification provides TGOOD with access to one of the Middle East’s most strategic power markets, marking a significant step forward for China’s high-voltage substation industry—from exporting products to exporting technical standards and delivery expertise.

The Stringent Qualification Standards of the Middle East’s Largest 

Power Utility

Saudi Electricity Company (SE) is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s primary power utility and one of the largest electricity companies in the Middle East and North Africa region. Its wholly owned subsidiary, National Grid Saudi Arabia (NG), is responsible for the planning, development, and operation of the national transmission network.

In the high-end power utility market of the Middle East, Saudi Electricity Company (SE) maintains one of the most stringent supplier qualification systems in the global power industry. SE operates a “shortlist” vendor mechanism, under which only companies that successfully pass a rigorous prequalification process—including qualification reviews and on-site factory audits—can be included in its official approved vendor list. SE imposes extremely high requirements on technical specifications, product reliability, and environmental adaptability.

Prior to this achievement, no company had ever been included in this official list as a supplier of high-voltage prefabricated substations. From the submission of its application to final approval, TGOOD successfully completed SE’s full and highly rigorous qualification process, with each stage serving as a comprehensive assessment of the company’s overall capabilities. This is not a question of “who is able to do it,” but rather “who is able to deliver at the highest level of excellence.”

Proven in Practice: 15 Mobile Substations Delivered in 6 Months

Before its official qualification, TGOOD had already proven its execution capabilities to National Grid Saudi Arabia through a successful project delivery.

In 2025, TGOOD was awarded a contract by National Grid Saudi Arabia for 15 units of 132kV mobile substations, required for deployment ahead of the peak summer demand period. The project was delivered in less than six months. The substations were installed in key load centres including Riyadh and Jeddah, where they operated under extreme environmental conditions, including temperatures exceeding 45°C, desert sandstorms, and high-salinity coastal air. The units have demonstrated stable performance throughout continuous operation, effectively easing summer peak load pressure and earning strong customer endorsement.

The operational performance data from this project became a key reference in the subsequent prequalification process. The customer evaluated not only test reports but also proven reliability under real operating conditions.

A Three-Stage Certification Process, Each Stage Marking a Rigorous 

Capability Assessment

Stage One: A Prolonged Technical Documentation Assessment Process

In accordance with SE requirements, TGOOD submitted a complete set of core documentation, including ISO certifications and project references, and engaged in multiple rounds of technical clarifications covering typical layout drawings, primary and secondary design schematics, and downstream supplier lists. SE maintains extremely high standards for documentation review, with stringent requirements for completeness and compliance. Even minor discrepancies in drawings or omissions in supplier lists could trigger additional rounds of inquiries. Through a highly rigorous and disciplined approach, TGOOD successfully passed the technical evaluation process.

Stage Two: Manufacturing Site Audit and Factory Compliance Review

SE’s Technical Qualification Department dispatched an audit team to conduct a full-scope factory audit covering management systems, production capacity, quality control, and HSE compliance. From management systems to production lines, and from quality assurance to health, safety, and environmental performance, every workshop and every production line underwent a comprehensive on-site assessment.

In response to in-depth technical inquiries from SE experts, the company leveraged the solid manufacturing foundation of China’s first pulse-line transformer substation production line and its national-level smart manufacturing facility to efficiently address each point of clarification. All observations were successfully closed, making TGOOD the first manufacturer in the prefabricated substation category admitted into SE’s approved vendor list.

Stage Three: Validation Under Extreme Environmental Conditions

SE’s supplier prequalification requirements go beyond achieving strong results in laboratory testing; equipment must also demonstrate reliable performance under Saudi Arabia’s extreme operating conditions. With summer surface temperatures exceeding 45°C, severe desert sandstorms, and highly corrosive coastal salt mist, TGOOD’s high-voltage prefabricated substations underwent multiple rounds of rigorous testing under high-temperature, high-dust, and high-salinity environments, and successfully passed all validation criteria.

From Product Exports to Global Standardization

The core value of prefabricated substations is the transformation of substations from traditional civil engineering projects into standardized factory-manufactured industrial products, integrated in manufacturing facilities and rapidly assembled on site, shortening project delivery cycles by over 60%. Amid the acceleration of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the large-scale rollout of renewable energy mega-projects, traditional civil substation construction timelines can no longer keep pace. In 2025, TGOOD actively participated in the formulation of Saudi Electricity Company’s high-voltage prefabricated substation standards, becoming the first entrant under this new standard framework.

Being included in the shortlist represents a long-term market access qualification for TGOOD in Saudi Arabia’s power sector, enabling full participation in SE’s standard procurement activities, as well as major projects such as national grid modernization, large-scale renewable energy developments, and flagship Vision 2030 initiatives. This achievement also signals a structural shift; whereby prefabricated substation solutions are expected to become a mainstream deployment model for 132kV–380kV substations within Saudi Arabia’s power transmission system.

At a higher level of competition, success is no longer about exporting products but exporting standards; not about entering markets, but about defining them. TGOOD’s achievement in Saudi Arabia marks only the starting point of this shift. As Chinese high-end manufacturing moves from being “reviewed” to being “recognized,” and from participating in tenders to shaping technical standards, China’s role in the global power equipment value chain is being fundamentally reshaped. Across markets with growing demand for efficient, reliable, and rapidly deployable power infrastructure, Chinese prefabricated substation solutions are set to play an increasingly important role.