EVN Bulgaria presses ahead with permits for 5.5 mln euro Burgas grid project

EVN Bulgaria and the municipality of Burgas will together seek assistance from relevant institutions to obtain timely regulatory permits so as to implement the project within the stipulated deadline, the power utility said in a press release.

Under the project's schedule, technical designs and specifications must be developed in 2022-2023. Approval procedures must be obtained in the same period, with construction and repair works planned to start in 2023.

In total, 75% of the funds come from the LIFE programme of the European Commission and 25% will be provided by EVN Bulgaria subsidiary Elektrorazpredelenie Yug. The LIFE Safe Grid for Burgas project is scheduled to be completed by 2026.

Elektrorazpredelenie Yug will move underground 52 kilometres of medium-voltage overhead power lines for the protection of migratory birds, and will also build 18 new substations and one new node station. The company will also install protective insulation on 2,000 poles of the electricity grid as well as mount 2,000 diverters, or light reflectors visible to birds, on power lines.

The works will be implemented in the wetlands around Burgas, namely Atanasovsko Lake, Burgas Lake, Mandra-Poda Complex and Pomorie Lake.

The project was approved by the European Commission in May 2021.

EVN Bulgaria has partnered for the project with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB).

($ = 0.94727 euro)