Treat distribution as an afterthought and the risks are serious. Cables run across the site without proper protection, circuits overload and trip, earthing is improvised, and a single fault can black out every load at once. Worse, poor distribution puts your crew at risk of electric shock and arc flash.
USP&E Connects Mobile Generation Safely to Your Loads
We know your schedule depends on getting power flowing quickly and safely. USP&E has delivered 150+ power projects in 45+ countries, with 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, including mobile and temporary power for mines, industry and emergency response. Our systems are ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified. USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor, not a broker.
We plan generation and distribution together, so the unit that carries your power from the generator to your loads is sized and protected for the job.
What a Mobile Power Distribution Unit Is
A mobile power distribution unit is a portable switchboard, usually mounted on a skid, trailer or in a container. It takes the output of a generator or a temporary supply, protects it, and splits it into several outgoing circuits that feed your loads. It typically includes an incoming breaker, outgoing breakers, earth fault protection, metering and connectors designed for quick, safe connection.
Units range from small boxes feeding site tools and lighting to large medium voltage skids that sit between a mobile turbine and a site network. The principle is the same: one controlled, protected point where power is split and measured.
How to Specify the Unit
Start with your loads. List each load, its voltage, current and starting behaviour, and how far it sits from the generator. Group them into circuits that make sense for operation and maintenance, and leave spare ways for loads you will add later.
Match the input to your source. The incoming rating, voltage and connection type must suit your generator or supply. With mobile gas turbines, there is often a step-up or step-down transformer between the generator and the distribution unit, so check where each voltage level sits.
Choose protection and metering. Outgoing breakers should be sized and set for each circuit. Earth fault protection is essential on construction and mining sites. Metering on each circuit helps you balance load and spot problems. Connectors should be rated, polarised and lockable so they cannot be mismatched or pulled under load.
Earthing, Cables and Site Layout
Plan earthing as carefully as the unit itself. The generator, distribution unit and loads must share a sound earthing system suited to the site’s soil and layout. On rocky or dry ground this can take real engineering.
Route cables to avoid vehicle paths, water and sharp edges. Use cable protectors or trenches at crossings and keep runs as short as practical to limit voltage drop. Label every cable at both ends so isolation is quick and certain.
Place the unit where it can be reached easily, is protected from flooding and is clear of fuel storage. Give it lighting and a clear working space for safe operation.
Test Before Travel, Train Before Use
Test the unit before it leaves the workshop: insulation resistance, protection settings, breaker operation and metering. Test again on site after connection. Give the site crew clear procedures for connecting, isolating and locking out each circuit, and make sure they are trained before the unit goes live.
Mobile distribution is what turns mobile generation into usable power. Our turbine inventory and rental and bridge power service are planned with distribution in mind, and the mobile gas turbine guide explains the generation side.
The same planning applies at every scale, from used/new gas turbines and gas turbine generators to a remanufactured GE Frame 6B or natural gas engines/stations. On compute campuses, hyperscale EPC/O&M teams distribute power from AI gas turbines, hyperscale generators and gas turbines for compute, and USP&E offers the New USP&E FX-45 45MW Modular Gas Turbine for the Hyperscale Data Center sector in the USA.
Global Offices Behind Your Mobile Gas Turbine Programme
Your team wants answers in its own time zone. USP&E’s offices in Colorado Springs (1755 Telstar Dr, Suite 300) and Knoxville (800 S Gay St, Suite 700) lead your mobile GT site receiving and fuel hook-up conversations in the US, from the first data request to the site visit, so questions about fuel, interconnection and delivery are answered by people who can be on site.
The wider network carries the heavy lifting for mobile gas turbine trailers, Frame 6B bridges and BOP skids: London (162-168 Regent Street) for structuring and finance, Johannesburg (22 Kildoon Rd, Bryanston) for engineering and project controls, Cape Town (31 Brickfield Road, Woodstock) for design and commissioning support, and Wuxi, China (No. 1, Ningzhou Road, Wuxi) for China supply chain and manufacturing.
For mobile power distribution, Colorado Springs and Knoxville engineers support US mobile power, while Johannesburg and Cape Town connect mobile generation on African sites. Regions served: USA | AFRICA | UK | UAE | CHINA. USP&E’s reach covers 150+ power projects in 45+ countries and 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, and the company is ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified.
Proof from Recent Mobile Gas Turbine Projects
You want proof that USP&E can deliver and connect mobile and fast-track power. These projects show that record.
- USP&E has refurbished seven GE Frame 6B gas turbines to zero hours in-house for major US hyperscale data-centre developers.
- A gold mine in West Africa: USP&E rebuilt more than 80 MW of Caterpillar CM32 engines and added 24 MW of new zero-hour capacity, delivering a 104 MW station with 300% greater reliability and availability than previously recorded at site. Read the case study.
- A giga-project developer in the Middle East: USP&E supplied three zero-hour Siemens SGT-400 gas turbines as the single technical and commercial interface.
How to Specify a Mobile Power Distribution Unit
Your 3-step plan: 1. Share your load list, generator details and site layout. 2. Receive a distribution unit specification with protection. 3. Supply, test, connect and train with one team.
- List the loads and voltages the unit must feed.
- Choose the input source and its rating.
- Pick outgoing circuits, protection and metering.
- Plan earthing and cable routes on site.
- Test the unit before it travels.
- Train the site crew to connect and isolate it safely.
Resources and live pathway
Data centres · EPC · O&M · About USP&E · Contact.
Mobile Power Distribution FAQ
What is a mobile power distribution unit?
USP&E describes it as a portable switchboard on a skid, trailer or container that takes power from a generator or temporary supply, protects it and splits it into outgoing circuits. It usually includes breakers, earth fault protection, metering and safe connectors.
How is a distribution unit used with mobile gas turbines?
USP&E places the distribution unit between the turbine’s output, often after a transformer, and the site loads. It protects and splits the supply into circuits, so each load can be isolated, metered and protected without affecting the rest of the site.
What protection should a mobile distribution unit have?
USP&E fits an incoming breaker, outgoing breakers sized for each circuit and earth fault protection, which is essential on construction and mining sites. Metering, rated lockable connectors and clear labels at both cable ends complete the safety picture, so your crew can isolate any circuit quickly and with certainty.
Why does earthing matter so much on temporary sites?
USP&E treats earthing as a design task because generator, distribution unit and loads must share a sound earth system. Poor earthing on rocky or dry ground can leave faults undetected and put your crew at risk of electric shock, so it is tested after every move.
Which USP&E offices support mobile power?
USP&E runs mobile power jobs in the United States out of Colorado Springs and Knoxville, and on African sites out of Johannesburg and Cape Town. Rental agreements are handled in London, and Wuxi supports any China-built units, so a moving project keeps its support.
What fast-track power has USP&E delivered?
USP&E has delivered 150+ power projects in 45+ countries, including fast-track work. Public projects include a modular 13.1 MW station handed over in less than five months on a full EPC basis, and a 16 MW HFO plant that reached commissioning two months early.
Is USP&E a broker for mobile power equipment?
USP&E is not a broker. USP&E plans, supplies, connects and operates mobile generation and distribution using its own engineers. A single crew is answerable for the full chain from generator terminals to your loads, and it stays answerable each time the kit moves to a new site.
How quickly can USP&E specify a distribution unit?
USP&E can draft a specification as soon as you share your load list, generator details and site layout. Engineers set out circuits, protection and earthing first, so the unit can be built and tested in the workshop before your generation arrives.
Get the Power to Your Loads Safely
Plan your mobile distribution with your generation and power reaches every load safely from day one. Improvise it and a single fault can stop the site. USP&E will help you specify, test and connect it with confidence.
Start now: send your load, site and fuel data through the contact page, phone +27 10 822 2324 or write to info@uspeglobal.com, and search current USP&E inventory while the team scopes your mobile GT site receiving and fuel hook-up.
Powering Possibility. Built for the Frontier.
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