The Sanetsch hydropower plant will be equipped with a new control system. With the new technology, the plant will largely run autonomously and can be controlled remotely. BKW will have to shut down the power plant between October 2020 and February 2021 to execute these works. The investment amounts to around CHF 3m.

This modernisation will also have an impact on the water reservoir. Since the power plant will be out of operation for around five months and the lake water will then remain unused, electricity is currently being generated using a particularly large proportion of the water from Lake Sanetsch. As a result, the water level is sinking and the lake shore will be wider during the construction phase. After completion of the work, the reservoir will return to its usual conditions with a constant water level.

Troubleshooting by remote access
The hydropower plant in Innergsteig was built in 1963 and has seen continuous renovation. The installation of the new control system is an important step in the digitalisation of the plant. In the future, malfunctions can be taken care of remotely by the on-call team, for example. The volume of water in the power plant will also ge regulated automatically.

The power plant produces around 37 gigawatt hours per year. This amount of electricity is enough for more than 8000 households. The power plant is owned 50 percent each by BKW and the EWB.

Based on AvS