Rzeszów–Khmelnytskyi powerline




The Rzeszów–Khmelnytskyi powerline is an electrical power transmission line between Ukraine and Poland. It is the only 750 kV-powerline in Poland and one of the few of it in the European Union of this type.

History

The decision to build this powerline was made in 1977 and it went in operation in 1985. The line went out of service after Poland joined the synchronous grid of Continental Europe. However, there was a plan to re-activate this line after 2010 by constructing a back-to-back conversion station on the Polish end of the line, but this was not implemented.
In 2016 Energoatom announced it was considering disconnecting unit 2 of the Khmelnitskiy Nuclear Power Plant from the Ukrainian power grid and using the powerline to connect to the Burshtyn TES energy island which operates on the European power grid, to facilitate exports to Poland and Hungary..

Technical description

It has a length of, of which in Ukraine and in Poland. It runs from Widełka substation near Rzeszów in Poland to Khmelnitskiy Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. It is an AC line and has a single circuit. It can transfer a maximum power of 1300 MVA.
As guyed portal pylons are used, strainers are from special design. They consist of three free-standing lattice towers each carrying one conductor. Each strainer tower has a crossbar at which the conductor is led around the structure on a huge insulator.
The line crosses at the 750 kV powerline from Zakhidnoukrainska Substation to Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, which may be the only crossing of two 750 kV powerlines in Europe.