Mayor of Haaksbergen takes new high-voltage cable into operation

05-03-2010 The new high-voltage cable between Haaksbergen and Hengelo in the north-east of the Netherlands was officially opened today during a festive ceremony. With the symbolic push of a button, TenneT Chief Operating Officer Ben Voorhorst and Mayor Karel Loohuis of Haaksbergen marked the entry into service of the new cable, which was installed entirely underground. The new electricity connection will make an important contribution towards the security of supply in and around Haaksbergen.

Haaksbergen municipality has been affected by several power outages over the past few years. The town was on a so-called ‘spur’ in the electricity grid. On several occasions, supply interruptions resulted in the Haaksbergen and Eibergen substations going without electricity for considerable periods of time. In light of these incidents and the planned increase of the electricity grid’s transmission capacity in the Twente region (the eastern part of Overijssel province), the decision was made to construct this additional link. The new cable will create a ‘loop’ in the electricity grid. This will allow the electric current to be transmitted in two directions at all times, thus preventing any disruptions from causing actual power outages.

Mayor Karel Loohuis was very pleased with the commissioning of the high-voltage cable. “The risk of a prolonged large-scale power outage like the ones we had here in November 2005 and March 2007 has now been reduced to almost nil, and that’s good news for local residents and businesses.”

The underground cable is 13.7 kilometres in length. Thirty-five drillings with a total length of approx. 3,000 metres were required during the construction of the cable link. Ten of these were more than 100 metres in length. Work on the project started in March 2009. The cable cost close to 10 million euros in total.

“This new cable link will structurally enhance the security of supply in the Twente region”, said TenneT Chief Operating Officer Ben Voorhorst. “The new cable is in line with TenneT’s strategy of enhancing the security of supply through measures such as creating new ‘loops’ in the grid. In the next few years, TenneT will be investing hundreds of millions of euros in expanding and upgrading the high-voltage grid in the Netherlands.”