(AGENPARL) – ven 15 dicembre 2023 TERNA: THE ITALY-AUSTRIA INTERCONNECTION ENTERS
INTO OPERATION
Total investment of € 80 million
The project extends for 28 km with entirely underground cables connecting Val Venosta
and Nauders
The new interconnection with Austria will promote the development of renewable energy,
enhancing the level of security of the European electricity grid
Rome, 15 December 2023 – The 220 kV underground power line connecting Italy and Austria today
entered into operation. The total investment for the project, carried out by Terna, the Italian power
grid operator led by Giuseppina Di Foggia, amounts to € 80 million euros.
The connection extends for 28 km along the Italian-Austrian border, linking the power substations of
Glorenza (in the province of Bolzano, Italy) and Nauders (the first city on the Austrian side of the
Reschen Pass). The project allows the two countries to increase the maximum import capacity to
300 MW, doubling the current capacity and promoting greater integration of renewable sources, with
consequent improvements in reliability of the electrical grid in the involved areas.
“The interconnection with Austria is a further and significant step forward for the development of an
increasingly secure, efficient and interconnected European power grid”, said Giuseppina Di Foggia,
CEO and General Manager of Terna. “Terna’s Ten-Year Development Plan foresees a total
investment of 2 billion euros for strengthening international interconnections, allowing for growing
integration of renewable sources and significantly contributing to the achievement of the targets set
by the energy transition”, Di Foggia added.
On the Italian side, the project, falling within the regulatory framework defined by article 32 of Law
99/2009, was promoted by Resia Interconnector, as part of a framework agreement with Terna
regulating its realization, operation, and maintenance.
In addition, the infrastructure will also ensure increased electricity exchanges, transporting lowercost electricity from abroad towards energy-intensive areas, resulting in benefits for the national
electrical system.
The construction sites involved numerous specialized companies and were launched at the end of
2020 by Terna in coordination with APG, the Austrian power grid operator.
The project is the result of a participatory decision-making process involving the local community,
during which the company included the population, authorities, and all local institutions right from the
beginning of the project through to its conclusion.