The Slovenian (ELES, d.o.o.) and the Hungarian (MAVIR Ltd.) Transmission System Operators hereby announce that the planned physical connection between the Hungarian and the Slovenian electricity systems was established on the scheduled date of 30th June at 10:03 AM.
The transmission system operators ELES, MAVIR, and HOPS carried out preliminary tests and measurements of the newly built international connection, which will provide a more stable and reliable operation of the electricity system at the 400 kV voltage level and contribute to an even the stronger connection of the mentioned markets to common EU internal electricity market.
Negotiations had already been launched concerning constructing a Hungarian-Croatian-Slovenian 400 kV transmission grid connection in the mid-1990s, the last phase of which was the construction of the Cirkovce-Pince transmission line. Slovenia is the last neighboring country with which Hungary has not had a transmission line connection. On the Hungarian side, a double-circuit tie-line between Hévíz and the Slovenian-Croatian-Hungarian triple border was completed before the turn of the millennium via the investment of MVM – the Hungarian Electricity Company – then owner of the transmission grid. As part of this, a 5-kilometer branch of the future Slovenian transmission line, in the direction of Slovenia, was built on the Hungarian side, creating an opportunity for later connection. The Slovenian system has now been connected to this branch.
As of Thursday, 30th June 2022, the transmission line is operating as testing and trial-run are underway. From the market perspective, the interconnection will be included in the cross-border capacity calculation process starting from 6th July 2022.
The transmission line construction took place from August 2020 to June 2022 on the Slovenian side, when all the conditions were met for the transmission line to be energized. As part of the construction, 120 km of access roads were constructed and paved, 7,850 tons of steel structure was installed, which is placed on more than 1,000 shallow and deep foundations. In addition, more than 2,400 pieces of insulator chains were installed at 264 towers, through which more than 1,500 km of conductors are mounted.
It should be noted that the work on the project is not yet fully completed. The investor is still applying a protective coating on parts of the transmission line that are not close to the voltage. The transmission line will be switched off from time to time due to the implementation of protection and various tests. By the autumn, landscaping will be done following the plans of landscape architects. The investor also continues to establish enhancements of habitats that are not directly under the transmission line.
The Hévíz – (Country Border) – Cirkovce – Pince 2x400 kV international transmission line project between Hungary and Slovenia is significant for EU energy policy purposes, which is why it was included in the list of the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI).
The project overhead line 2x400 kV Cirkovce – Pince and the substation 400/110 kV Cirkovce received EU funding through CEF-Energy grant.
