The need to improve the supply security to the Bergen region has long been a high priority, and the situation for Bergen today is unacceptable. Last winter, the grid in the Bergen area was operated with reduced security of supply for more than 1300 hours. For a time period of practically a whole month there was a 50% risk of blackout for large areas of the Bergen district. 

 
A comprehensive collaboration between Statnett and BKK concluded that building a power cable  connection from Sima to Samnanger would be the best solution to secure power supply to the Bergen district. Statnett has examined the subsea cable alternative as part of its consequence analysis programme for Sima-Samnanger, but in our experience this alternative will not be good enough. Extremely high costs and lower security of supply was a determining factor for our conclusion.

  
The subsea cable solutions have been estimated to cost around NOK 4 billion at current market prices. This is far more than the power line alternative which has been priced at around NOK 900 million.

     
NorNed, the subsea cable to the Netherlands, is currently one of the most technologically advanced. We have had three failures on this cable since it started operation in 2008. It took three months to repair the last fault. Across the Oslofjord we have three lines crossing the fjord as sea cables. On these, we experienced simultaneous failures on the sea cables for two of the lines, resulting in very time-consuming repairs.

 
"These are all incidents with relatively low probability, but potentially severe consequences with today's weak grid in the Bergen area," says Statnett's executive vice president Håkon Borgen. 

Today, we have many main interconnections into the Oslofjord area, something which meant that the faults and the extended disconnection of the cables across the Oslofjord did not have a critical impact on the security of supply. In comparison, there are only two lines into the Bergen district. A cable error in wintertime, at a time of high consumption, would therefore result in the same unacceptably low security of supply which the Bergen area experienced this winter.  

 
"The construction of installations required for the subsea cable alternative means intrusions into the landscape in the form of a compensatory plant at Sima, on land halfway into the Hardangerfjord and at the subsea cable landing spot in Nordheimsund. This type of project has a huge scope and complexity and would not be completed for years. In our opinion, this is a very long time to endure unacceptable delivery security into the region," Borgen underlines. 

 
This is a case that many people feel strongly about, and it is particularly difficult because there are so many feelings involved due to the beautiful Hardanger landscape. 

 
"We do understand people's reactions and their opposition, but Norway cannot have a situation where the inhabitants of the country's second largest city risk having no electricity supply for long periods of time. Our job has been to find solutions for the routes that will be as considerate of nature as possible. We have been through a thorough process, with several consultation rounds, but we do take onboard the criticism that we have not had a good enough dialogue with people. These are lessons learned for our next development projects. We are not comfortable that people feel that they have not been heard," says Borgen.