Voltage increase improves power supply between Bülach and Schaffhausen

To increase the security of supply, Axpo has converted the operating voltage of the power lines from 50 to 110 kilovolts (kV) in the region west of Schaffhausen and the neighbouring areas in the canton of Zurich. The work, which was successfully completed this autumn, will increase the performance and reliability of the electricity supply in the entire region. 

A high-performance grid infrastructure is the basis of a secure electricity supply. By increasing the voltage from 50 to 110 kV, the supra-regional grid will be strengthened and adapted to the requirements of the energy future. Thanks to the voltage conversion, the transmission capacity will be doubled and at the same time the grid losses will be reduced by 75 percent. With the measures implemented, the connected substations Neuhausen, Rafz and Wilchingen will have efficient and future-oriented grid connections in the long term, to the benefit of customers and the entire region.

The following projects were implemented as part of the voltage conversion:

• Wiring of the existing overhead line of Axpo and Elektrizitätswerk des Kantons Schaffhausen AG (EKS) between the Wilchingen substation and the Neuhausen substation.
• Conversion of the existing lines Eglisau-Wilchingen, Eglisau-Rafz-Neuhausen and Riet-Rheinau
• Replacement of the (220/50 kV with 220/110 kV) transformer of Axpo in the Eglisau substation
• Replacement of the (50/16 kV with 110/16 kV) transformers of EKS in the Wilchingen and Neuhausen substations
• Replacement of the (50/16 kV with 110/16 kV) transformers of EKS and EKZ (Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich) in the Rafz substation
• Construction of the 16 kV cable line of EKS from the Rafz substation to Dettighofen

The following overhead lines are no longer needed and will be dismantled:

• 50 kV overhead line between Neuhausen and Wilchingen
• 50 kV overhead line between Lotstetten and Marthalen Radhof

Voltage conversion

Axpo is gradually converting its existing supra-regional distribution grid for operation from 50 to 110 kV. This means that more electricity can be transported and grid losses are significantly reduced. In this sense, the voltage conversion makes an important contribution to ecological and economical grid operation. The voltage conversion contributes to overcome shortages and takes the increasing energy demand into account. A powerful and efficient electricity grid is an essential prerequisite for a reliably high and sustainable security of supply for the whole of north-eastern Switzerland, now and in the future.