Reserve power plant Birr AG is ready to supply electricity again
Published: Monday, Jul 1st 2024, 15:10
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The federal reserve power plant in Birr AG has been reconnected to the extra-high voltage grid after an interruption lasting almost four months. The national grid company Swissgrid repaired the grid connection for around two million Swiss francs following a fire in an outdoor switchgear.
Swissgrid announced on Monday that the reserve power plant is now ready to supply energy again. In view of Switzerland's security of supply, it was decided in the spring, in consultation with the authorities, to carry out the repair work on the damaged switch panels in the Birr AG substation as a whole and definitively.
In mid-February, a cable termination caught fire in the 220-kilovolt open-air switchgear in this substation. The incident damaged the grid connection to the Birr reserve power plant.
As a result of the damage, energy deliveries from the Birr reserve power plant were not possible. In the event of a critical supply situation, Swissgrid stated that it would have initiated a provisional repair.
Since March 2023, the reserve power plant on the General Electric Gas Power site has been ready for operation in the event of a power shortage. Eight gas turbines would supply electricity.
The capacity in full operation is 250 megawatts, which corresponds to a quarter of the capacity of the Leibstadt AG nuclear power plant. The federal government estimates the total costs for the operating period until spring 2026 at CHF 470 million.
©Keystone/SDA
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