A Comprehensive Guide to High and Medium Voltage Infrastructure

Hello and welcome back—I’m Bbo Jo. In today’s tutorial, we’re diving into the electrical side of Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic. This guide will walk you through the essentials of setting up your power grid—from high voltage wires to medium voltage networks, transformers, substations, and border settings. Whether you’re a new player or looking to refine your infrastructure setup, this guide has you covered.

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1. Understanding Electricity Basics

Electricity in the game revolves around two key components: high voltage wires and medium voltage wires. Each plays a distinct role in how power is transmitted and distributed across your Republic.

• High Voltage Wires:
  • Available in different megawatt options, from as little as 4 megawatts to as high as 18 megawatts.
  • These wires are best used where power consumption is high, but you don’t necessarily need the highest capacity everywhere.
• Medium Voltage Wires:
  • These come into play once power is stepped down from high voltage via a transformer.
  • They distribute power to your buildings and other infrastructure, and come in various sizes, with the largest offering around 2.3 megawatts.

Understanding your buildings’ power demands is critical. For example, if a building has a 60 kW circuit breaker and a maximum power consumption of 3.6 MW per day, you can roughly calculate that it needs about 0.6 MW of power per second. Add these up for your city, and you can determine the capacity required on your wires.

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2. Setting Up High Voltage Infrastructure

A. Border Connections and High Voltage Wires

When starting out, head to the border and click on any of the available high voltage wire options. You’ll notice a yellow electricity signal icon that indicates where power is entering your Republic.

• Tip: I typically use the highest capacity wires available at the border to ensure I have plenty of power for expansion. However, it’s important to match wire capacity with your actual consumption to avoid unnecessary expenses.

B. High Voltage Switches and Pylon Connections

After laying your high voltage wires, you need to build high voltage switches. These switches allow you to:

• Feed power into your internal network.
• Connect to pylons, which further distribute electricity to other parts of your network.

Make sure your connections are consistent—if a wire is already in place, you cannot mix different types on the same connection.

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3. Converting to Medium Voltage

A. Power Transformers

Next up is the power transformer. This vital component takes in one high voltage line and splits it into multiple medium voltage wires. You have options here:

• Use the vanilla transformer or select one from summer mods—the functionality is essentially the same.
• Ensure that the transformer is connected to the correct high voltage wire before distributing power to medium voltage lines.

B. Medium Voltage Wires

Once transformed, connect your medium voltage wires:

• These wires distribute power from the transformer to your buildings and infrastructure.
• As with high voltage, you have several options based on capacity, with the largest around 2.3 MW.

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4. Electric Substations: The Heart of Power Distribution

An electric substation is a critical node in your power grid. It serves as the junction where high voltage is converted to medium voltage and then distributed to nearby buildings.

• Identifying a Substation:
  • Look for the small symbol featuring a high voltage wire on one side and a medium voltage wire on the other.
  • Place the substation in an optimal location—ideally within range of water, sewage, heat, and other utilities, and within about 330 meters of the buildings it will serve.
• Connection Guidelines:
  • Once installed, the substation will highlight buildings without power, helping you identify areas that need additional wiring.
  • Ensure that all wires connected to the substation are of the same type; mixing high and medium voltage connections will result in an error.

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5. Configuring Border Export and Import Settings

At the border, you also need to manage power import and export settings:

• Export/Import Options:
  • By default, both settings are at 0%, meaning you’re not importing or exporting any power.
  • You can only set one mode at each border post—you cannot import and export simultaneously.
• Practical Setup:
  • Adjust the settings to 100% for your chosen mode if you want to ensure you’re only paying for the power you need while using up to the maximum capacity (e.g., 18 MW for the highest-rated wire).

Once your border post is configured, you should see the substation’s power meter come to life, showing that power is being delivered.

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6. Managing Power Distribution and Capacity

A. Connection Range and Consumption

• Effective Range:
  • Buildings require a direct connection to the substation’s network. Typically, this connection is reliable up to around 330 meters. Beyond that, buildings will lose power.
• Capacity Limits:
  • Each electric substation has a maximum power output (commonly around 2.5 MW). As you add more buildings, monitor the consumption meter.
  • If the total power draw exceeds what a single substation can provide, you’ll notice flickering lights or other signs of overload.

B. Avoiding Overloads

• Scaling Up:
  • To prevent overload, simply add another substation in areas where power demand is high.
  • Proper planning and wiring can help balance the load across your city, ensuring that every building receives a stable power supply.

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7. Final Thoughts

Building an efficient power grid in Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic is all about understanding your city’s consumption and matching it with the right infrastructure:

• Plan Your Layout:
  • Use high voltage wires for long-distance transmission and transformers to split power into medium voltage for local distribution.
• Monitor Consumption:
  • Keep an eye on your substation meters. When demand exceeds capacity, add more substations to avoid flickering lights and power outages.
• Stay Consistent:
  • Ensure that your wiring and connection types remain consistent across your network to avoid errors and inefficiencies.

Thank you for following this electricity guide. I hope you now have a clearer understanding of how to set up and optimize your power grid. If you found this guide helpful, please like and subscribe, and let me know what other topics you’d like to see. Happy building, and I’ll see you next time!