Laying the foundation stone for a new substation in Neukölln

29.04.2021

Thousands of customers in Rollbergkiez will benefit from the investment project with a future-proof and secure power supply.

"It’s a good day for Berlin and a good day for Neukölln", says Thomas Schäfer, Managing Director of Stromnetz Berlin, who is delighted that another investment project for a future-proof Berlin power supply is now visibly picking up speed. On the occasion of laying the foundation stone for the new "Rollberg substation", Thomas Schäfer welcomed Mayor Martin Hikel to the construction site on Rollbergstrasse.

"Here in Rollbergkiez, we are investing in the future, in a reliable infrastructure and thus in quality of life for Berlin and its residents. Although our security of supply has improved over the past year, our so-called unavailability of the grid per customer has fallen to a value of less than ten minutes a year. But this high quality of supply must be maintained in the long term and we are working on it every day", emphasises Thomas Schäfer.

The new Rollberg substation will also help to ensure this. The modern new building will be built immediately next to the plant that has been in operation for over four decades. Construction of the building begins with today’s laying of the foundation stone, and a topping-out ceremony is scheduled for autumn 2022. The electrotechnical equipment of the future power distribution system will then begin.

District Mayor Martin Hikel explains: "Neukölln is a constantly changing area. The energy supply needs of private households and businesses are also developing. The Rollberg substation makes an important contribution to the renovation of the Neukölln electricity distribution grid. Modern infrastructure is an important prerequisite for people to enjoy being at home safely in the area."Stromnetz Berlin will invest around 28 million euros here at the site by the end of 2025. The size and performance of the new 110 kV substation with 63 mega-volt amps (MVA) is geared towards the wishes of customers in the supply area, as well as rising but also rapidly changing power requirements. The company is responding to this with increasing digitalization, automation and flexibility.

For example, the new Rollberg substation will be equipped with state-of-the-art switching and control technology. 38,000 households and currently around 3,600 commercial customers will benefit from this. The risk of power failure is minimized. As the plant is integrated into the central control system of the Berlin electricity grid, very short supply restoration times are possible in the event of malfunctions.

Construction in Neukölln is not the only infrastructure that Stromnetz Berlin is currently implementing: A number of other grid expansion measures, the modernisation of grid systems, the establishment of high-performance customer connections for computer centresor the expansion of electromobility are being driven forward. In 2021, the company is spending a total of 234 million euros on these and other projects to expand and maintain the capital’s distribution network.