Ellevio’s project to secure Stockholm’s energy supply receives a loan from the Nordic Investment Bank

Ellevio, one of Sweden’s largest electricity network companies, has received a SEK 1 billion loan from the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) to partially finance the rebuilding of substations in Värtan/Hjorthagen and Skanstull in Stockholm. The projects are crucial to ensure the city’s long-term energy supply and enable sustainable development in Stockholm. Combined, the project’s will increase Stockholm’s electricity distribution capacity by 40 percent.

“NIB finances projects that improve productivity and benefit the environment, and this is exactly in line with the objectives of Ellevio’s operations. We are working in several ways to enable the sustainable energy transition by renewing the electricity network, increasing capacity, maintaining a high rate of investment, investing in charging infrastructure and helping both businesses and private customers cope with the transition,” says Johan Lindehag, CEO of Ellevio.

Investments to solve capacity shortages in the electricity grid
One of the greatest challenges for Sweden’s electricity grid is that more and more people live in cities. About 70 percent of the country’s population increase is happening in the cities, and the Stockholm region is expected to have three million people in 20 years. Urban planning has long taken electricity supply for granted, without considering the need for the expansion of the electricity network. This risks threatening both economic growth and the transition to a low-carbon society.

Ellevio is investing heavily to solve the capacity challenge in Stockholm’s electricity grid, both in the short and long term. The rebuilding of the substations in Värtan/Hjorthagen and Skanstull are two examples. Other examples are the new 400 kV line that is currently being laid between Beckomberga and Bredäng and the marketplace sthlmflex, which makes it profitable to plan and be flexible with the use of electricity.

Increasing transmission capacity by 800 MW 
The Värtan substation in Hjorthagen has a very important role in meeting the demand for electricity in central Stockholm. The project, which is Ellevio’s largest to date, began in May 2021 and the new substation is due to be completed in 2026. The rebuilding of the Värtan substation will increase the transmission capacity by almost 100 percent – from 325 MW to 600 MW.

The project in Skanstull will create a new connection between the main grid and Stockholm’s regional and local grid. The connection is needed to cover Stockholm’s long-term capacity needs. A new 220 kV switchgear will be connected to Svenska kraftnät’s new transformer station – and the transmission capacity in the electricity grid will increase by 1,000 MW.

When both Värtan and Skanstull have been rebuilt, the total transmission capacity will increase by approximately 800 MW. The capacity increase will result from the fact that the stations provide redundant connection points, and both cannot be fully loaded at the same time.
In a press release, NIB writes:

“The upgrade and expansion of the Värtan and Skanstull substations supports the electrification of society and the growing population in Stockholm… Ellevio supports Sweden’s goal to become fossil-free through electrification and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. The rebuilding of the two large substations in Värtan and Skanstull is seen as crucial for increasing the long-term electricity distribution capacity in Stockholm and enabling sustainable development in the Stockholm region.”

The ten-year loan will be used to partially finance the renovations. The payment was made on 31 October 2022.

 

About Ellevio
With close to one million customers, Ellevio is one of Sweden’s largest electricity network companies. Together with our customers we take an active role in the journey towards an increasingly electrified society. Our electricity networks are the backbone that connects producers and consumers of electricity, which enables more renewable electricity production, electrification of transport and industry and which creates conditions for new climate-smart services for our customers. We have 600 employees and employ a total of 3,000 people around the country. We are owned by the pension managers Folksam, Första AP-fonden, Tredje AP-fonden and OMERS Infrastructure. Read more at ellevio.se