Estlink 2 undersea power cable to become operational Wednesday
The repair work on Estlink 2, which was shut down in January due to a malfunction, will be completed on Tuesday. The electricity connection between Estonia and Finland is scheduled to be restored on Wednesday.
"The cable repair work has been completed, and preparations for energizing the cable have been made. Testing of the cable, which is a prerequisite for restarting the connection, began yesterday and continues today. If no setbacks occur during the tests, the connection will be available to the market starting tomorrow," said Reigo Haug, head of TSO Elering's Estlink unit.
Load tests for Estlink 2 were already conducted on Tuesday and will continue until midnight. The regular transmission is set to begin at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Elering's statement to ERR.
During testing at noon on Tuesday, a transmission from Finland to Estonia was carried out with a capacity of 535 megawatts. Estlink 2's transmission capacity is 650 megawatts.
To address the malfunction that occurred at the coastal facility on the Estonian side, it was necessary to replace approximately 300 meters of cable with a spare section and connect it to the existing cable line. The construction of the marine cable joint on the seaward side was completed from a platform built in the coastal sea at the beginning of August, and now the connection joint between the marine and land cables on the shore side is also finished.
Repairing the oil-paper insulated cable required specialized equipment and personnel with specific training and experience. The repair work was carried out by subcontractors from Norway and Estonia.
Although the repair has been completed to the extent that the cable can be reactivated, extensive work at the repair site will continue for several more months. It is crucial to complete all necessary backfilling, shore reinforcement and soil work before winter, as well as dismantle temporary structures, including roads, platforms, cranes and the drained marine area.
Estlink 2 shut down due to a malfunction at the end of January. The exact location of the fault was identified at the end of February. Estlink 2 began operation in 2014. Until this malfunction, the undersea cable was one of the most reliable direct current connections in the Baltic Sea region. The malfunction has significantly impacted electricity prices in Estonia this year.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Marcus Turovski
