Elering will continue replacing overhead transmission lines with underground cable lines in the Õismäe and Astangu districts in Tallinn

In a public procurement, Elering has selected the builder of the cable lines between the Harku, Kadaka and Veskimetsa substations. The work will be performed by AS Merko Infra (part of the AS Merko Ehitus Group) and AS Connecto Eesti, having submitted a tender in the volume of 5.1 million euros.

Three tenders were submitted to the public procurement of which the bid made by the joint tenderers AS Merko Infra and AS Connecto Eesti was the cheapest.

After the complete replacement of Veskimetsa-Kadaka and partial replacement of Veskimetsa-Harku and Kadaka-Harku overhead transmission lines with underground cables, the winner of the contract will dismantle the old high-voltage overhead lines on the same sections. The installation of new cables will improve the security of supply for the districts of Mustamäe and Haabersti and the areas around Tallinn, and the visual pollution in the districts of Õismäe and Astangu caused by overhead transmission lines will be reduced.

The Veskimetsa-Kadaka 110 kilovolt overhead transmission line will be replaced with an underground cable in its entirety; the Harku-Veskimetsa overhead transmission line will be replaced by an underground cable between Veskimetsa substation and Karjääri tee; and the Harku-Kadaka overhead transmission line in the section between Kadaka substation and Karjääri tee. The total length of the installed cables is almost 10 kilometres. Work will be completed by the end of 2020.

Both the open as well as closed method will be used to install the cables. The cable line will be placed along the entirety of the line at a depth of 1.5 to 6 metres in the soil. In the course of the work, the asphalt surface of the roads and pavements in the area will be restored and thousands of square metres of new landscaping will be created.

The replacement of these overhead lines with underground cable lines is part of a larger project by Elering that will gradually rid densely populated areas in the City of Tallinn of the high-voltage lines that have completed their lifespan. At the same time, it will free the land of the line protection zones for the improvement of the living environment of the townspeople. There will also be less danger of line-related accidents.

Earlier, Elering replaced the Veskimetsa-Endla, Veskimetsa-Järve and Järve-Endla overhead lines with underground cables. At present, the Veskimetsa-Kopli and Veskimetsa-Volta overhead transmission lines are being replaced by underground cables. After this stage of the investment project, Elering plans to continue working on the replacement of Kopli-Paljassaare and Paljassaare-Volta overhead transmission lines with underground lines in 2021, and in 2023 Elering will replace additional overhead transmission lines with underground cables between Harku and Veskimetsa substations.