In March, TenneT is to start work on the new high-voltage connection between Haaksbergen and Hengelo, The Netherlands. The 110-kV cable will be installed entirely below ground and will structurally enhance the security of supply in the Haaksbergen region in the North-East of the Netherlands.

Over the past few months, TenneT has consulted closely with local land owners in order to reach agreement on the construction of the new cable between Haaksbergen and Hengelo. The cable will serve as a back-up for the connection between Haaksbergen and Goor, and will also strengthen the spur network in the Twente region (the Eastern part of the province of Overijssel). This is important as industrial activity in Twente is on the increase, and demand for electricity is rising. The actual installation of the 13-km cable will begin in March.

The cable is to be tested in the autumn of this year and the new connection is scheduled to enter service in early 2010. The connection consists of three separate cables which will be laid side by side at a depth of approx. 2 m. A trench will be excavated along most of the route (some 11 km) for the cables to be laid in. Boreholes will be drilled at some locations, e.g. where the cable intersects with roads or waterways.

Haaksbergen municipality has been affected by several power failures over the past years. The town is connected to a so-called ‘spur’ of the electricity grid. On several occasions, disruptions in the nearby high-voltage grid resulted in the Haaksbergen and Eibergen substations being without electricity for a considerable period of time.

As a result of these events, TenneT decided to conduct a survey into the possibilities for expanding the high-voltage grid in the region. The survey revealed that the realization of an additional connection will increase the security of supply for Haaksbergen as well as strengthen the high-voltage grid in Twente. TenneT, which has been responsible for all high-voltage grids of 110 kV and higher since January 2008, is currently examining whether it can optimize more spur connections in the future.