Energinet wants more power through the same grid: overhead lines to run at 75 degrees instead of 50

Energinet, the state-owned company that owns and develops Denmark's electricity transmission grid, on 5 November presented a set of technical and market measures aimed at getting more capacity out of the grid already in place. According to the company, Denmark is in a “capacity crisis”: the need to transport power has grown faster than the grid, and businesses and producers waiting for a connection feel the gap directly.

What changes technically. Many overhead lines today operate at around 50 degrees Celsius; raising the temperature to 75 degrees allows them to carry more current. Because warmer conductors sag lower, some places will need new conductors or extra support masts so that ground-clearance requirements are still met. Energinet is also looking at additional lines on masts already prepared for them, temporary extra loading of transformers followed by cooling periods, and better cooling with fans and additional temperature measurement.

What management says. “We can run the transmission grid harder than we do today,” said Kim Willerslev Jakobsen, CEO of Energinet Systemansvar, adding that this means more wear and periods in which equipment must cool down again. The company warns that the effect varies considerably from place to place, but estimates that, taken together, the measures could deliver a capacity increase in the double-digit percentage range where conditions are best.

The market as a second lever. In parallel, Energinet is working on flexible connections with limited grid access in special situations: in October it notified the regulator of the first of six new products of this kind due by the end of the year, and on 2 November it put two variants for producers out to public consultation. Batteries, flexible demand and capacity maps are meant to help place new projects where the grid can take them.

What comes next. Energinet stresses that none of the solutions replaces building new lines; earlier this month the company announced a DKK 15.8 billion investment in the grid between Central Jutland and Vendsyssel.

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