Constanța – Rețele Electrice România, the electricity distribution operator, part of the PPC group in Romania, will start a project worth about 86 million lei (VAT included) for the modernization three 110 kV high-voltage power lines in Constanța county, as well as a 110 kV line in Tulcea county. The investment is co-financed with over 46.3 million lei (excluding VAT) through the Sustainable Development and Just Transition Program (PDDTJ) 2021-2027, through a contract signed with the Ministry of Investments and European Projects.
The project aims to modernize the four overhead power lines, by replacing the electrical conductors and equipment in the adjacent stations, doubling the transmission capacity of the lines and allowing a greater amount of renewable energy to be taken into the distribution network.
The three 110 kV lines in Constanța county supply, through the Sitorman, Săcele and Mihai Viteazu transformer substations, the industrial area of the Sitorman quarry and the neighboring localities, while the 110 kV line in Tulcea county serves the area of Topolog, Ciucurova, Nalbant, Frecăței, Cataloi and Tulcea.
This project strengthens one of our objectives, that of creating a resilient distribution network, capable of supporting new ways of energy consumption and production. Dobrogea is an optimal area for the production of energy from renewable sources, and by doubling the transmission capacity of these overhead power lines, we support the development of this production, while facilitating the transport of energy to customers.
Mihai Pește, General Director of Rețele Electrice România
The works will include the rehabilitation of the existing poles for the four high-voltage lines. The new electrical conductors will be state-of-the-art, allowing the transport of an increased amount of electricity, which will ensure an efficient integration of production from renewable sources.
In addition, in the 110/20 kV Sitorman, Săcele, Mihai Viteazu transformer substations, the current transformers will be replaced, whose current capacity of 300 A (amperes) will be increased to 600 A, in order to safely take over the additional amount of energy transported through the new conductors. In addition, digital relays will be installed to ensure the differential protections of the short lines and their integration into the National Energy System. Through digital equipment, faults will be identified more quickly and resolved through remote, safely managing the increasing volumes of energy produced from renewable sources.
The implementation period of the project is 20 months from the date of signing the financing contract.
In the last two years, 42 projects have been submitted for funding, of which 17 already have signed contracts. In total, 21 projects are being implemented through the Modernization Fund, the Sustainable Development Program and the LIFE Program. The value of the projects submitted is close to one billion euros, and the financing contracts signed exceed 300 million euros, with a total value of contracted projects of over 400 million euros for the three regions in which we operate.
The company Rețele Electrice România operates networks with a total length of about 136.000 kilometers in three major areas of the country: Muntenia Sud (including Bucharest), Banat and Dobrogea, covering one third of the local distribution market, and develops an investment program to improve the quality of services, safety and performance of the networks and local implementation of the environmental standards of the PPC group. The electricity infrastructure operated by Rețele Electrice România includes 293 power stations and over 26.000 secondary substations.