Equipment necessary to decouple from Russian electricity system reach Estonia

TALLINN – Last week, key equipment for the synchronous compensator station necessary for separating Estonia from the Russian electric power system arrived at Pussi, western Estonia, and the initial installation of the equipment took place.

The arrival of the equipment provides further assurance that the first of the three synchronous compensator stations to be built in Estonia will be completed on schedule, despite the difficult global market situation, transmission system operator Elering said in a press release.

Taavi Veskimagi, the CEO of Elering, said that an important milestone in the synchronization project was reached last week.

"Synchronous compensator stations are critical for decoupling from the Russian synchronization grid and connecting to the continental European frequency area. With the completion of the Pussi synchronous compensator station, we will take a major step forward in our ability to keep our electricity system stable also after separation from the Russian grid," Veskimagi said.

The equipment delivered last week for the construction of the Pussi compensator station consists of a synchronous compensator, a flywheel and a transformer. Of the equipment necessary for the station, said gear have the longest delivery times, with the design and manufacture thereof started back in the second quarter of 2021.

The initial installation of the equipment will be followed by the assembly and set-up of smaller pieces of equipment, trials and test runs, which are scheduled for the final quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

Siemens Energy will build a total of three synchronous compensator stations in Estonia.  Construction work on the Kiisa station will start this summer, while the last of the three stations, the station of Viru, will be completed by the end of 2024.

Synchronous compensator stations are an important supplement to the power supply system, which make it possible to keep the frequency, the most important parameter of the electrical system, stable even in critical conditions. Inevitably, the electricity system will experience sudden changes in generation and consumption, when additional efforts are needed to maintain frequency. The stations will not run continuously, but will be switched on proactively when necessary.