At the «Gäbihübel» it is easy to see the effects of the underground laying of a section of a 380 kV extra-high-voltage line on the landscape and environment as well as the challenges presented with regard to construction, operation and maintenance

Swissgrid is modernising the extra-high-voltage grid in the Upper Valais for future operation at a voltage of 380 kilovolts.

Nesting boxes for jackdaw colonies have been installed on pylons of the Swiss extra-high-voltage grid in Weinfelden and in the Saint-Triphon region. In other parts of Switzerland, too, electricity pylons provide a home for endangered bird species.

While Swissgrid is a public limited company, its business model is completely different to those of other companies.

The assembly of the cable connection gantry for the La Bâtiaz – Le Verney underground link and the replacement of pylon 51 on the Chamoson – Romanel 380 kV overhead line are under way at the Verney construction site in Martigny. These two elements are essential for connecting the underground link to the Swiss extra-high-voltage grid. The underground cable link is scheduled to be commissioned in spring 2022.

Electricity prices began to rise dramatically last summer, reaching record high levels by the end of 2021. The reasons lie in the European energy markets. There is currently no relief in sight.

It’s not just people who can freeze, our lines can too. And they can even crack. This blog post explains what Swissgrid is doing about this and how it works.

In Sils substation, weasels are helping Swissgrid to keep the mouse population under control. But Swissgrid is also offering the endangered species a new and valuable habitat.

In the new brochure “Substations and Transformers – Important Elements in the Transmission Grid”, we describe the role of switchgear and transformers in the transmission grid in simplified terms.

EU transmission system operators have had to implement the 70% rule since 1 January 2020, with a transition period until the end of 2025. The impact of this rule on Switzerland is not easy to explain. We’ll try all the same.

In the future, new decision support tools could help with the assessment of voltage stability by indicating potential courses of action. Katharina Kaiser devoted her Master’s thesis at ETH Zurich to the topic, with guidance from Swissgrid.