APG: KEMA appraisal contains severe shortcomings

"Guaranteeing the security of supply has top priority for VERBUND-Austrian Power Grid AG (APG). The option proposed in the KEMA appraisal, namely, a partial underground cabling of the second section of the Salzburg line, however, is not suitable for guaranteeing the security of supply for Salzburg or for Austria," APG Chairmen of the Managing Board, Heinz Kaupa and Thomas Karall, comment in a first statement.

Over the next few days, APG will continue to analyse the KEMA appraisal and present newfound results.
A first investigation of the KEMA appraisal presented last Monday already produced serious shortcomings. The appraisal's authors have based the same on a far too low dimensioning.  The transmission capacities assumed in the appraisal for the Salzburg line are inadequate and do not correspond to the required minimum dimensioning determined by the authority in charge for the maintenance of grid safety in Austria. This minimum dimensioning is accepted by the regulatory authority E-control and complies with the long-term planning in Austria as set forth in agreement with the national and international grid partners. 

The unanimous verdict of the APG Managing Board is that the KEMA feasibility study provides no new insights that would justify a change in plan regarding the urgency of completion of the Austrian 380 kV high voltage ring, that, at any rate, an underground cable solution cannot warrant the security of supply. This applies not only to the second section of the Salzburg line treated in the appraisal but also to the other still existing gaps in the security ring in Upper Austria/Salzburg and in Styria/Burgenland.

For APG, the position of E-Control, which relies upon the expert opinion of renowned university professor Oswald, who, in turn, bases his expertise on the necessary transmission capacities, is of major importance. The regulating authority determines the conditions under which APG, by law, is required to fulfil its supply commitment.
After years of extensive procedures, the Styria line has been given positive notice for an overhead transmission line. The cable option, in the said process, has also been investigated thoroughly by the independent environmental tribunal and found to be unsuitable.