Hungary-Slovakia interconnectors start commercial operation

One of the 400kV lines connects the substation Gonyu, in Hungary, to the hydroelectric power plant in Gabcikovo (Bos), Slovakia. The other runs between Rimavska Sobota (Rimaszombat), Slovakia, and the Hungarian settlement of Sajoivanka.

MEKH chairman Peter Janos Horvath said the interconnectors would boost Hungary’s cross-border capacity along its longest frontier and in the high-volume north-south direction, supporting delivery of electricity generated from renewable resources, too. He called the interconnectors a “significant step” in ensuring the energy supply of both countries, adding that they play “an important role” in shaping Europe’s integrated electricity market.

Horvath noted that Hungary imports about 30 percent of its electricity, and a large degree of that enters the country from Slovakia.

Hungarian TSO MAVIR said the 1.8-kilometre stretch of interconnector between Gonyu and the border had cost 4.2 billion forints (EUR 12.7m) to construct, while the 23.2-kilometre stretch of interconnector from Sajoivanka to the border had cost 8.8 billion forints. Both projects were supported by European Union funding, it added.