The project involves modernising and extending the Kočín electricity substation, in the Czech Republic. This will bolster its transmission and interconnection capacity and improve its technical parameters to ensure reliable operation, even in extreme conditions. This should increase energy security in the country’s transmission system.
Modernising and extending the Czech Republic’s Kočín electricity substation
- 05 November 2019
The main components of the work include construction of a new outdoor 400 kV transmission station of 20 bays, replacing the substation’s two 400/110 kilovolt (kV) voltage level, 250 megavolt ampere (MVA) capacity transformers with two new 400/110 kV, 350 MVA transformers to supply power for the south of the country.
Further elements entail renovating the existing 110 kV distribution station and making modifications to allow existing transmission lines to be linked to new connection bays with minimal disruption.
Connections with new power lines
Fully equipped connection bays will be provided for three new 400 kV lines to be installed under Czechia’s North-South Interconnector Programme, of which the current project is one of eight separate elements.
Protection, measurement, control, fire monitoring, alarm and video surveillance systems will be fitted, as will a new system for the substation’s own energy consumption. The substation will be connected to the management and data control systems of Czech transmission system operator ČEPS.
New central buildings and secondary buildings to house technological infrastructure will be built; and cableways, internal passageways, outdoor fencing and lighting, and systems for services including water supply and sewage will be installed. Further work covers modifications to a drainage ditch and landscaping.
An important node
Being part of Priority Corridor North-South Electricity Interconnections in Central Eastern and South Europe (NSI East Electricity), the Kočín substation is an important node in the Czech transmission system and has a status of a Project of Common Interest (PCI) (cluster 3.11 in the Commission Regulation 2018/540). It primarily serves southern Bohemia, but is also connected to five 400 kV overhead lines which facilitate power evacuation to consumers in central and western Bohemia and Moravia, and ensures exchange of north-south and east-west power flows. The Temelín nuclear power station is connected to the Kočín substation.
The objectives of the project are closely linked to those of the North-South Interconnector Programme, which include increasing network capacity to ensure energy security and allowing for generation of more intermittent renewable energy, mainly from wind, from northern Germany towards Austria and Slovakia. Planned to be implemented between 2017 and 2034, the interconnector programme is included in the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity's 10-year network development plan.
Additional objectives of the current project are to improve the reliability of energy transmission and transformation at the Kočín substation by replacing old and substandard equipment, and to enhance supply by improving connections with existing and potentially large energy sources in the area.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “TR Kočín – Modernization and reconstruction” is EUR 173 666 448, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 46 378 985 through the “Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “TO7 – Transport and energy networks”.