10 to 14 million annually: Wels Strom is increasing investments in the power grid

On the one hand, electricity consumption is increasing across Austria, for example due to electrification in industry, electric heat pumps and e-mobility – all trends that will increase in the coming years. On the other hand, PV systems are feeding more and more solar power into the grid. So far, the power grid in Wels has mastered these challenges well, says Wels-Strom managing director Herbert Kierner: “In order to keep up with developments and handle the electricity volumes, we now have to install the necessary copper.”

To this end, the company is increasing its investments: the company, which is owned by eww and Energie AG, wants to invest ten to 14 million euros annually in the expansion starting this year. In the next five years, 60 million euros are expected to flow – a tripling compared to the expenditure from 2017 to 2023.

The individual projects to expand capacity are expensive: an additional substation is being built in Schafwiesen at a cost of 15 million euros. The one on Stelzhamerstrasse will be expanded by 4.5 million euros – others in the rest of the city are to follow.

• You might also be interested in: Great demand for solar power: a blessing, but also a curse?

While this work is hardly visible to the population, the expansion of the lines is more noticeable: a main line from Puchberg to Wels-Nord is being strengthened by 2.5 million euros in order to be able to carry more electricity. For this purpose, the Roman road must be opened up. “That is the disadvantage of underground pipes like the ones we have in Wels – but the advantage that storm damage, for example, is not an issue, outweighs it,” says Kierner.

The extreme increase was not foreseeable three years ago, explains eww board member Wolfgang Nöstlinger: “The development – away from fossil forms of energy and towards electricity – has been accelerated by the geopolitical crises.”

There has never been an expansion program of this size in Wels, says Kierner: “We have to work through the hype that we have now in terms of network technology in the coming years.”

Financing as a balancing act

Wels Strom has drawn up a detailed plan with individual projects for the next five years. “We start where measures are needed most urgently,” explains the managing director. However, the entire process will take significantly longer.

In addition to the difficult search for personnel, the company continues to face supply chain problems.

In addition, there is the constant balancing of investments and the desire to keep the price of electricity low, explains Kierner: “At the end of the day, we have to be able to finance the investments again through the electricity product.”

info By clicking on the icon you can add the keyword to your topics.

info
By clicking on the icon you open your “my topics” page. They have of 15 keywords saved and would have to remove keywords.

info By clicking on the icon you can remove the keyword from your topics.

Add the topic to your topics.