Berlin is criss-crossed by electrical supply tunnels. There are a total of 35,400 kilometers of cables and lines (archive image) Photo: Tim Brakemeier/dpa
From the BZ editorial team
In the capital, almost 99 percent of all power lines are underground! Advantage: They are largely well protected from storms or lightning strikes.
Also, the city looks nicer without power poles. Disadvantage: The lines can be damaged during civil engineering work.
There are a total of 35,400 kilometers of cables and lines. We can see their big connecting stations – the substations. There are 75 of them in Berlin. The small cable junctions through which the electricity is sent to consumers can also be seen in the cityscape every day: the 16,700 power distribution boxes.
One of the largest underground power lines is the 29-kilometre-long 380-kV diagonal (cable diagonal) that runs straight through Berlin. It supplies the city with energy and secures the connection to the European power grid.
The tunnel tubes of the cable diagonals have a diameter of three meters and are at a depth of up to 30 meters. There are six thick high-voltage cables hanging down there, it’s cold and drafty. The network operator is modernizing seven kilometers of this route.
