PJSC Federal Grid of Unified Energy System : Rosseti Group Completed the Largest Project in the Power Grid of the North-West

Rosseti Group Completed the Largest Project in the Power Grid of the North-West

01/25/2022

The solemn opening ceremony of the new Kola-Karelian transit was attended by Nikolay Shulginov, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Artur Parfenchikov, Head of the Republic of Karelia, and Andrey Ryumin, Director General of PJSC Rosseti. The complex of power transmission lines and substations forming a single chain with a length of more than 1,100 km, was created as part of the implementation of the trunk infrastructure upgrade and expansion national project. Rosseti Group's total amount of investments exceeded 59 RUB bln.

The power main runs in Murmansk region, the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Region in parallel to the first transit chain, created more than 30 years ago. The capacity of the previous main was not enough for the full use of the generation of Murmansk Region, primarily of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant and hydroelectric power plants.

Thanks to the erection of the second transit chain, the possibility of power transmission through the Kola-Karelian transit increased 1.5 times - up to 615 MW. This made it possible to eliminate the risks associated with the operation of the power systems of Murmansk Region and the Republic of Karelia in isolation from the UES of Russia, as well as to cover current and future electric power demands. From now on, the transit will also be involved in the power supply to the Kola Wind Farm, which is the largest one in Russia.

"Perhaps the most ambitious project of recent years in the UES of Russia has been completed - the construction of a transit with a length of more than 1,000 kilometers. The new Kola-Karelian transit will strengthen energy ties between the regions, significantly increasing the grid transmission capacity," Nikolay Shulginov said.

"The construction of the second chain of the Kola-Karelian transit will significantly improve the reliability of power supply to consumers in the Republic of Karelia. What's more, the contractors involved in the construction and reconstruction of power grid facilities included Karelian enterprises, new jobs were created, the regional budget revenues increased," Artur Parfenchikov noted and thanked the Ministry of Energy of Russia and PJSC Rosseti for the project implementation.

"The construction of the second chain of the Kola-Karelian transit is an unprecedented in terms of its scale grid project in the country's North-West. New distribution centers and more than a thousand kilometers of power transmission lines have been put into operation, existing substations have been upgraded. The increase in transit capacity made it possible to ensure the full-fledged operation of Murmansk generation in the interests of consumers of several regions at once, to eliminate systemic risks for reliable power supply to territories with a population of more than 3 million people. Likewise, thanks to the new infrastructure, the share of low-carbon energy in the power systems of Karelia and Leningrad Region will increase noteworthily," Andrey Ryumin said.

About 3,500 supports have been installed at the energy transit. One of the important stages was the construction of a 1.5-kilometer high-voltage crossing across the Svir River with 73-meter-tall supports. Also, Rosseti FGC UES, which implemented the project, put into operation two new power facilities - the 330 kV Kamenny Bor and Borey distribution centers.

Alongside with the erection of transmission lines, large-scale related activities were carried out, namely, the reconstruction of four operating 330 kV substations in Murmansk and Leningrad Regions, the Republic of Karelia. Autotransformers with a total capacity of 500 MVA have been put into operation at the Knyazhegubskaya and Loukhi substations. An open switchgear of 330 kV was built at the Petrozavodsk substation. Moreover, the Petrozavodsk and Tikhvin-Liteiny substations were tooled with shunt reactors to compensate for reactive power and ensure acceptable voltage levels in the grid. The analogous equipment has been installed at the Kamenny Bor and Borey distribution centers.

All power facilities included in the macro-project have been equipped with modern automated control and commercial energy accounting systems, as well as microprocessor-based relay protection devices. More than 90% of the applied equipment is manufactured in Russia. The remote infrastructure observability is ensured. By the end of 2025, it is planned to ensure the remote control over the 330 kV Kamenny Bor and Borey distribution centers, the 330 kV Petrozavodsk, Loukhi, and Knyazhegubskaya substations.

At the end of the opening ceremony of the new Kola-Karelian transit, a working meeting was held between Nikolay Shulginov, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Artur Parfenchikov, Head of the Republic of Karelia, and Andrey Ryumin, Director General of PJSC Rosseti, where the issues of further development of the region's power grid were discussed.