Modernising high-voltage substation Koksijde

On 7 August 2023, Elia will start modernisation work on outdated high-voltage substation Koksijde on the Ganzestraat. Work will include the addition of more greenery to the area around the high-voltage substation. The work will take three years to complete. Local residents will not experience any power cuts.

High-voltage substation Koksijde is an important hub for electricity supplies to the west coast and supplies electricity to various coastal municipalities. However, it is outdated and no longer meets current technical and safety standards.

Added to this, demand for electricity is increasing and the expectation is that this trend will continue in the years ahead. Elia wants to prepare for this increase in demand, which is another reason for modernising the high-voltage substation and preparing it for the future.  

Working in phases

Elia will carry out the following work:

• Demolition work: this will include the demolition of the relay room (= control room), low-voltage equipment and one line descent; 
• General site work: new, reinforced cable channels, foundations and gravel zones will be created to facilitate future maintenance of the installations. The remaining ground will be finished in part with water-permeable gravel and the green areas. This will allow rainwater to return to the subsoil naturally;
• Construction of the green buffers and green zones: sowing new gravel zones within the substation with low-growing vegetation, strengthening existing green edges, planting new edges and also planting pollard willows;
• Renovation and adaptation work: construction of a new relay room; renovation of new and existing bays; a new transformer, the beating heart of the high-voltage substation; a new phase shifter that can control and distribute electricity transmission.

Measures to keep disruption to a minimum

Elia will make every effort to keep disruption to a minimum while carrying out the work above. For example, contractors will use low-noise technologies, work will only take place between 7 a.m and 7 p.m. and site traffic will always take the shortest, safest and most accessible route. The Ganzestraat will remain accessible to traffic. 

Elia will do its utmost to keep local residents up-to-date. For example, the high-voltage manager organised an information market to update local residents last year. Also, any local residents with questions can always send an e-mail to omwonenden@elia.be or call the free telephone number 0800 11 089.