110 kV line goes underground – masts come down in Köpenick and Lichtenberg
Stromnetz Berlin’s dismantling programme for overhead lines in the urban area is progressing
Köpenick's District Mayor Oliver Igel (left) and Stromnetz Managing Director Erik Landeck jointly gave the starting signal for the first mast removal. (Photo: Stromnetz Berlin)
Today, the electricity grid for Berlin consists of around 35,600 kilometres of cable and overhead lines. Around 99 percent of these lines are installed underground. This increases supply reliability and makes the grid less vulnerable, for example to weather influences. In the high-voltage segment, 'only' around 80 percent of the cables are underground. Stromnetz Berlin GmbH therefore implemented a dismantling programme a few years ago for the approximately 46 kilometres of remaining 110 kV overhead power lines in the urban area.
The dismantling of the masts for a 110 kV overhead line has now begun in the Köpenick and Lichtenberg districts. During a joint visit to the construction site with Treptow-Köpenick’s district mayor Oliver Igel today, Stromnetz Berlin Managing Director Dr Erik Landeck promised: "By the end of 2033, all of the large masts of the electricity distribution grid will have disappeared from the cityscape. This also means that we must invest heavily. Because high-voltage cables will, of course, continue to be indispensable for the Berlin electricity grid - they will just be laid underground."
District Mayor Oliver Igel explained: "Overhead power lines have been part of the cityscape for a long time. With the modernisation of the electricity distribution grid, there are now new and more powerful high-voltage lines underground, which support the energy revolution with the different requirements on the grid and strengthen the supply reliability. The careful dismantling of the old lines creates space for urban development and has a positive impact on the landscape."
This will also apply in Köpenick and Lichtenberg. A new underground high-voltage cable route with four 110 kV cable systems between the Wuhlheide grid node and Klingenberg CHP plant is now complete. This high-performance power line is the prerequisite for dismantling the existing overhead line, which previously connected the two power distribution sites. 2.3 kilometres of overhead lines with the corresponding high-voltage masts - including along the Spree on Köpenicker Chaussee and Rummelsburger Landstraße - are now being dismantled.
This means that Stromnetz Berlin is not just investing in a continued reliable power supply. With the dismantling of overhead lines, the regional company is also ensuring a better quality of life in the metropolis and creating space for further urban development.