Fingrid Is Acquiring New 400 MVA Power Transformers

The electricity transmission connection between the south and north of Finland is being improved. Power transformers have been ordered for the transformer substations in Pyhäselkä and Petäjävesi, and the contract on their delivery was signed by Fingrid and KOLEKTOR ETRA on 13 August.

Slovenia-based KOLEKTOR ETRA will supply 400 MVA 400/120 kV power transformers to transmission system operator Fingrid. The contract of approximately EUR 6 million includes the delivery of two power transformers. The ordered power transformers will be delivered to the transformer substations in Pyhäselkä and Petäjävesi. The signed contract also allows for the delivery of five optional power transformers in 2020–2023.

The transformer substation in Pyhäselkä will be replaced within the next year. The replacement and the new power transformer ordered now relate to the renewal of the Oulujoki grid. The Oulujoki grid will be renewed in stages in 2019–2022. The area’s ageing power grid will be modernised, and wind power projects of several hundred megawatts have also been planned for the area. Fingrid has planned the development of the power grid in close cooperation with the electricity producers and distribution system operators in the area.

The replacement of the transformer substation in Petäjävesi and the new power transformer ordered now for the substation relate to a larger project called Forest Line, which will improve the transmission connection between the south and north of Finland to serve the needs of industry and consumers. The aim of the projects in both Pyhäselkä and Petäjävesi is to contribute to Finland remaining a single price area for electricity.

The purpose of the five optional power transformers is to provide for the several pending wind power projects across Finland. In addition to the projects in the Oulujoki area, Finland has wind power projects amounting to thousands of megawatts underway.