The repair of the submarine power cable between Estonia and Finland, EstLink 2 is facing issues due to challenging geological conditions and the cable's unique technical solution.
According to Reigo Kebja, a member of Elering's management board, the company started preparations in February, including design work, to speed up the repair of the cable along with the work to determine the exact location of the fault.
The cable is installed in the slope on the shore using the directional drilling method. The geological conditions at the location are difficult and to avoid its effects on the new cable section a proper solution is required while planning the repair work. Repair work is complicated in the sea, as the ships used for laying the cable cannot reach to the shore.
The final technical solution for both the cable being replaced and the transition joint will be specified during the ongoing design work.
Despite the fault, security of electricity supply has been assured in Estonia and Elering is also considering cases where two elements important for the operation of the electricity system in the Baltic countries are non-functional at the same time.
