Salzburg utility builds substation to strengthen Lungau power grid

Salzburg Netz GmbH, a subsidiary of Salzburg AG, is building a new substation in the Mörtelsdorf district of Tamsweg to improve electricity supply security in the Lungau region, ORF’s Salzburg news service reported.

The Lungau currently has only one substation, in St Michael. The new facility will provide additional capacity for new electricity feed-ins, including solar power generators, said Salzburg Netz managing director Christina Staude.

Staude said the lack of capacity had made it difficult to process new connections in the region. The additional capacity is expected to speed up approvals and improve supply security.

Salzburg Netz said the grid is under particularly high strain on days when electricity demand is low but feed-in from photovoltaic and hydropower plants is high.

The company is also considering installing a high-voltage cable in the Tauern tunnel tubes during their planned major refurbishment. The Lungau grid is currently connected to the rest of Salzburg mainly by an overhead line across the Tauern. Because the line runs in high mountainous terrain, it is exposed to the weather and vulnerable to faults.

An underground cable would not be exposed to weather, significantly increase transmission capacity and provide greater protection against outages by creating two systems, Staude said.

Negotiations with Asfinag are still under way. No precise cost estimate is available yet.