Currently, the islands are powered by overhead lines on the dam on the Väike Strait. The completion of a parallel sea cable will reduce the risk of the islands being cut off from power for an extended period in case of overhead line disruptions, Elering said.

It will also decrease the number of high voltage wires on the dam and the remaining overhead line can be put into order so it is more visible to birds.

The cable laying started last weekend and is being installed between the island of Muhu and the town of Orissaare on Saaremaa. In the first phase of the works, floats were used to transport the 4.7-kilometer, 110-kilovolt electric power cable from a vessel into the sea. The cable will be plunged into a 1.5-meter deep trench in the seabed, which will then be filled with soil.

The length of the new power cable reaching from the island of Muhu to the new substation in Orissaare totals 6.7 kilometers, 4.7 kilometers of which will be submerged. 

The total cost of the cable, which will be established by AS Merko Infra, part of the listed Estonian Merko Ehitus group, and AS Connecto Eesti, is close to €5.4 million. A similar cable will be installed by the two companies in the Suur Strait between mainland Estonia and Muhu island next year.

Elering established the first modern 110-kilovolt sea cable between the mainland and the island of Muhu in 2015. Since then, the cable has carried the main weight in supplying electricity to the islands of Muhu, Saaremaa, and Hiiumaa.

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