Reţele Electrice Romania, part of the PPC Group in Romania, has started construction works on a new 110/20 kV substation in Balotești, with the aim of increasing the connection capacity and safety in the electricity supply for customers in Balotești, Corbeanca and Otopeni. The substation will be completed in 2027, following an investment worth over 75 million lei.
The works on the structure of the building that will house the newest 110/20 kV substation in the Rețele Electrice România portfolio began in January, the substation being designed in a modern, interior construction, designed for safety and high energy efficiency. In parallel, work is being done on the integration of the new substation into the existing energy distribution network, and the necessary equipment will be installed in the Otopeni station, from where one of the high voltage connections of the new station will be made, the second high voltage connection being designed to be made from the Buftea substation.
“The construction of a new substation in the Balotești area is a project of strategic importance, aiming to increase the resilience and availability of the network, thus improving the distribution service, in an area with continuously expanding consumption. The positioning of the Balotești substation between the three substations already operational in the area (Otopeni, Buftea, Căciulați) will allow an efficient balancing of loads, reduction of energy losses and increased security in the electricity supply. The adopted solution ensures increased flexibility in supply, the possibility of taking over power flows in various operating regimes and an efficient integration into the electricity distribution infrastructure, thus contributing to improving the performance and reliability of the system. The new high-voltage connection between the Buftea substation and the new Balotești substation will increase the flexibility of the high-voltage network by ensuring the transit of energy from the west of Bucharest to its north,” said Mihai Pește, General Manager of Reţele Electrice Romania.
The station will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, which ensures a reliable distribution of electricity – GIS (Gas insulated switchgear) encapsulated cells, being configured with a double system of busbars joined by a transverse coupling (2 line cells, 2 transformer cells, 2 measurement cells and a coupling cell).
The new substation will initially operate with two transformers with a capacity of 25 MVA each, and the project allows the capacity to be extended to 2 x 63 MVA, depending on the evolution of energy consumption in the area. Thus, the new station will be able to ensure the connection of new consumers following the development of the infrastructure in the area. The connection of the new substation will be made from the Otopeni power substation, through a modern technical solution, using a high-voltage cable with a length of approximately 13 kilometers. This connection will ensure the safe and stable supply of the future Balotesti station. The value of the investment for the construction of the new Balotești transformer station exceeds 75 million lei, a budget that will be provided from the own funds of Reţele Electrice Romania.
Also in this area, Reţele Electrice Romania is carrying out modernization works on the medium voltage power lines in the Balotesti area, as part of a project co-financed through the Modernization Fund, managed by the Ministry of Energy.
The project aims to modernize and increase the transmission capacity of several 20kV and 0.4kV overhead lines in the area of Balotesti, Ilfov County, for the benefit of 15,000 customers. The lines will be transferred from the air to the underground, thus making the network more resilient In addition, the transformer substations will be modernized, using concrete envelope substations, which ensure a high degree of protection and resilience. The modernization works of the medium voltage power lines amount to over 115 million lei, of which 23 million lei will be provided from the distribution operator’s own funds, the rest coming from the Modernization Fund. The integration of the 2 projects aims to increase supply security by modernizing, shortening and reducing the lengths of certain existing network segments through the development of new medium voltage lines in the future Balotesti transformer station.