Statnett granted licence for new cables in the Oslofjord The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has granted Statnett a licence to build and operate a new 420 kV subsea cable from the new muffler station at Teigen in Vestfold to the new muffler station at Evje in Østfold.

“The objective of the project is to safeguard the transmission capacity across the Oslofjord. This is important for supply security in the Eastern Norway region and for removing bottlenecks in the electricity grid,” says Senior Vice President Håkon Borgen of Statnett’s Grid Operations Division. The new cable route in the Oslofjord is 13 km long. The licence has been granted for up to three sets of 420 kV subsea cables (nine cables). This provides flexibility for future transmission requirements and the need for back-up solutions.

The new cable route between Teigen and Evje will be located south of the existing route – and will not go via land on Bastøy in the Oslofjord as is currently the case.

The licence also comprises operation and maintenance of the existing cable facility for five more years from the commissioning date for the new facility. Statnett will use the existing facility as a back-up during the running-in phase for the new cable facility. When sufficient experience has been gained with the new facility, Statnett intends to shut down the current cable facility (Teigen – Bastøya – Evje).

The current cable facility was commissioned in 1981 and has a total of six oil/paper insulated cables. The route consists of two parts with a connection on Bastøya Island. The Oslofjord cables have been operated practically without faults for 27 years, until faults occurred in four of the cables in the spring of 2008. Since then, extensive repairs and mapping have been carried out. The entire cable facility was re-commissioned on 16 October 2009 following extensive repairs. Continued operation of the existing cable facility, however, entails drawbacks that indicate a need to replace the facility with a new one.

Work on the new 420 kV subsea cable is scheduled to start in the second half of 2010, with possible completion by the end of 2012. The project has a preliminary cost framework of NOK 1.2 billion.

Contacts in Statnett SF:
Project Manager Martin Mauritzen. Tel. + 47 23 90 34 81 Vice President Corporate Communications Rune Gutteberg Hansen. Tel. + 47 22 52 72 48