All poles of phase one of Pevek-Bilibino power transmission line have been installed

30 may 2023

All 2,483 poles have been installed as part of the first phase of the 110 kV Pevek-Bilibino power transmission line being built by RusHydro in Chukotka. The power line is constructed in extremely harsh environmental and climatic conditions of the Arctic.

Once the pole installation was completed, the construction team started pre-commissioning works. Testing of the Beregovaya-Komsomolsky power transmission line and 110 kV Komsomolsky substation at the operating voltage has begun. Construction of foundations and installation of poles for the second power transmission line are also under way.

The new power transmission line will create a reliable energy link between Pevek, where the floating nuclear co-generation plant Akademik Lomonosov was put into industrial operation in 2020, and the Bilibino NPP. The project is needed due to the high wear of the existing power transmission line operated since 1960 and gradual phasing out of the Bilibino NPP. A number of mining projects requiring a reliable power supply are being implemented in the Pevek-Bilibino energy hub.

A 490.6 km long single-circuit transmission line is being constructed in the first phase of the project. It will connect the northernmost Russian town of Pevek with the town of Bilibino. The Komsomolsky substation has also been upgraded with modern equipment and a new power distribution board has been built in Bilibino. This phase is planned to be completed this year.

By 2025 another power transmission line network will be built, a Beta switchgear station will be constructed and the Yuzhny substation will be upgraded in the second phase.