Siili area residents freed from view of high-voltage lines from their windows

This week, work started in Mustamäe, Tallinn, on the order placed by Elering to replace the Veskimetsa-Järve 110-kilovolt overhead line with underground cables. The result of the project will be the removal of high-voltage lines from Siili area.

The new Järve-Endla and Veskimetsa-Endla underground cable lines were completed last year, and together with the cable installation, the old overhead lines in Kristiine region in the area of Vuti and Haigru steets were taken down. It is now time to complete the Siili section.

This is part of a larger Elering project to gradually remove high-voltage power lines from the densely populated region of Tallinn. During ongoing work to improve safety and reduce visual pollution, Elering will be installing many tens of kilometres of new cable lines over the next five years. The installation of cable lines in place of overhead lines provides the opportunity to use the land underneath line protection zones to enhance the lives of city residents.

The new 6.2-kilometre-long Veskimetsa-Järve cable line will be installed along Kadaka, Ehitajate, Vilde and Sütiste streets. After the installation of the cable lines, the existing Veskimetsa-Järve overhead line will be demolished, which runs from Veskimetsa substation on Kadaka Road through the Tildri and Siili road area along Retke Road and Elektroni Street to the Järve substation.

All work connected with the installation of the Veskimetsa-Järve cable lines, including the demolition of the old overhead lines, will be completed by the end of 2017. A large portion of the installation work for the new cable will be done using the enclosed, or so-called horizontal drilling method.

The installation work for the Veskimetsa-Järve underground cable will be carried out by joint bidders OÜ Baltros GEM Grupp from Estonia and UAB Kauno energetikos remontas from Lithuania, as winners of the state tender. The cost of the project is around 2.6 million euros excluding VAT.

Together with the installation of the new Veskimetsa-Järve underground cable, Elering will be building a new substation in Mustamäe, where distribution network operator Elektrilevi OÜ wishes to connect to the transmission system. The tender for construction work on the Mustamäe substation was won by AS Merko Infra, with an offer of more than 1.2 million euros. The substation will also be completed according to schedule by the end of 2017.

In the coming years, Elering will replace many overhead lines in the Mustamäe and Põhja-Tallinn regions with underground cables.

PS! Photo of the Elering overhead lines in the Siili area is attached hereto.