ČEPS commissions new V487/488 line in Czechia

The transmission system operator commissioned the new 400kV V487/488 line in June this year, as planned. It connects the Vernéřov substation in the Ústí nad Labem Region with the Vítkov substation in the Karlovy Vary Region, strengthening the reliability of electricity supplies in both regions.

As part of this major investment project, 248 new towers were built: 243 of the Dunaj type, one Delta tower and four press-braked towers of the Portal type. The V487/488 double-circuit line is 79.2 km long in total. Construction took place, to the greatest extent possible, along the corridor of the original 220kV V223/224 line, and total costs amounted to approximately CZK 4.4 billion.

„The V487/V488 double-circuit line will help strengthen the reliability of electricity transmission at the Vítkov substation node in north-western Bohemia, while also increasing the security of electricity transmission at the 400 kV voltage level across the Czech Republic. This line will strengthen the power system’s capacity to transmit electricity generated by planned renewable energy sources in the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions,“ said Karel Slončík, a member of ČEPS’s Board of Directors responsible for the Management, Operation and Maintenance of the Transmission System division.

For the first time in the Czech transmission system, this line uses so-called press-braked towers, which are made from sheet metal shaped into a polygon. Specifically, these are two pairs of double-shaft Portal structures in an undercrossing configuration, which allow V487/488 to cross beneath other double-circuit lines at the same voltage level.