Expensive undertaking

East Tyrol: Megaproject to secure power supply

Construction from the Lienz substation to the national border(Bild: Martin Oberbichler)

Austrian Power Grid (APG) is renewing the line from Lienz to Italy at a cost of €220 million by 2031. Local residents, on the other hand, can breathe a sigh of relief. After a transformer weighing several tons, this is the next major upgrade around the Lienz substation.

APG's 220 kV line between the Lienz substation and the Italian border was put into operation around 70 years ago. An additional 816-ton transformer went into operation around three years ago. A new megaproject, which has now been presented, shows that the plans in East Tyrol are not yet complete. The 34.9-kilometre-long line between Lienz and the Italian border - also known as the southern connection - is to be renewed from 2027 to 2031.

Specifically, it will be moved away from residential areas in Tristach, Amlach, Leisach, Ober- and Untertilliach, thus bringing about an improvement.

Austrian Power Grid (APG)

In addition to the lines, optimizations to the existing routes are also planned. The new pylons will be around 15 meters higher, but slimmer. The distance to residents, development areas and potential natural hazards will also be corrected. "Specifically, in Tristach, Amlach, Leisach, Obertilliach and Untertilliach, the route will be moved away from residential areas, thus bringing about an improvement," APG reports.

Enormous costs promote European interest
In order for these changes to be implemented, investments of 220 million euros are planned. The connection is of great importance to APG as it is one of around 100 European infrastructure projects of the European Commission and is therefore important for the EU's climate targets and security of supply.

Once the exact plans have been drawn up, an environmental impact statement will be drawn up in the coming weeks.