News & events

2012-08-17

Most Powerful Autotransformer in Lithuania Reached Klaipeda

Transportation of a 173-tonne cargo is not a casual event – it is tantamount to a shipping of a fully grown whale. Weighing that much, an autotransformer reached the Klaipeda transformer substation on 3 August.  Having been transported for two weeks on a special train platform, the cargo arrived at Rimkai railway station from the Zaporozhye transformer plant, Ukraine.
 
Although the remaining part of the trip from the railway station to the substation was only nine kilometres long, the unusual transportation operation lasted for two days and demanded the utmost focus – the cargo was hauled on a 16-axle one-piece trailer with a platform that distributed the weight of the 10-metre-long and nearly 5-metre-high autotransformer, eliminating any damaging impact on the road surface. Having successfully reached its destination, the device is currently installed at the Klaipeda substation.
 
This is now the second autotransformer to reach the Klaipeda transformer substation and is one of its essential devices.  Transforming the voltage from 330 kV into 110 kV, it will secure electricity transmission to distribution networks. Also, it is worth pointing out that the present device and the analogous AT-1 autotransformer, which arrived at the substation in September 2010, are currently the most powerful (250 MVA) autotransformers in the Lithuanian transmission system.
 
Reconstruction of Klaipeda transformer substation is a part of the preparatory work for NordBalt project. Since power links between Lithuania and Sweden will be constructed during the implementation of the project, the new autotransformers will ensure the reliability of the electricity supply to the western part of Lithuania and stability of the system. The Klaipeda transformer substation reconstruction is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2014.