2004. Projekt Rekonekcija – 2019. – 15. obljetnica

Europska udruga državnih elektroprivreda do svibnja 2001. radila je pod imenom Unija za koordiniranje proizvodnje i prijenosa električne energije (Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity − UCPTE). Zbog procesa liberalizacije i priprema za otvaranje tržišta električne energije dolazi do promjene organizacija. Razdvajaju se djelatnosti proizvodnje i prijenosa električne energije. U Lisabonu, Portugal, u svibnju 2001. Hrvatska elektroprivreda postaje jedan od osnivača i punopravan član nove udruge za prijenos i vođenje elektroenergetskih sustava – UCTE (Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity).
U to vrijeme nasljednim povijesnim događanjima europski elektroenergetski sustav (ees) sastojao se od dvaju dijelova, dviju razdvojenih zona; prva i druga europska elektroenergetska zona. Na sastanku pod predsjedanjem Jürgena Stotza, tad glavnog direktora Njemačke elektroprivrede (Deutsche Verbundgesellshaft − DVG), zaključeno je da je najveći prioritet povezivanje navedenih zona i stvaranje jedinstvenog europskog ees-a.
Potpisivanjem Pisma o razumijevanju u Lisabonu, na navedenom sastanku počele su aktivnosti oko projekta Rekonekcija. Već na tom sastanku mogao se primijetiti velik pritisak s ciljem da se projekt završi do svibnja 2004. godine. Razumljivo, najveći je interes pokazivala Grčka. Naime, 13. kolovoza 2004. bilo je planirano otvorenje XXVIII. Olimpijskih igara u Ateni.
Sigurnost opskrbe električnom energijom bio je prioritet. Već je tad bila gotova studija o mogućim scenarijima Rekonekcije. Bilo ih je sedam, ali niti jedan nije računao da će Hrvatska u tom roku obnoviti svoju visokonaponsku mrežu uništenu ratnim razaranjima i izgraditi dvije nove 400 kV trafostanice Ernestinovo i Žerjavinec. Rekonekcija bi se napravila preko Mađarske, a Hrvatska bi vjerojatno još godinama bila djelomično izolirana od ostatka europskog ees-a. Nakon dugih rasprava i sastanaka, Upravni odbor UCTE-a na sastanku u Zagrebu 2002. godine osnovao je Izvršni tim (Executive Team − ET), s osnovnim ciljem pripreme i realiziranja projekta električnog povezivanja tad postojećih dviju europskih sinkronih zona.
Upravni odbor UCTE-a, sastavljenog od svih europskih elektroprivreda, za voditelje je odredio predstavnika hrvatskog operatrra prijenosnog sustava Ivicu Toljana (Član Uprave HEP-a i direktor prijenosa) i češkog Jiřija Feista (tad jedan od direktora češkog prijenosa ČEPS-a). Nakon pune tri godine intenzivnog i odgovornog rada, Hrvatska je obnovila svoju visokonaponsku mrežu, što je napravila i BiH, izgradila nove 400 kV transformatorske stanice i projekt je doveden pred završnu fazu provedbe − planirano uključenje 10. listopada 2004. godine. Na zadnjem sastanku Izvršnog tima za rekonekciju, mađarski predstavnik upozorava da se projekt ne može realizirati jer na sučelju Republike Slovenije, Mađarske i Hrvatske faze nemaju jednak redoslijed, odnosno zamijenjene su. Zbog toga treba ees RH i BiH odvojiti od europskog ees-a (staviti u otočni rad). Da bi se to realiziralo, treba dobiti dozvolu od UCTE-a i organizirati više od 500 ljudi različitih struka te svu pripadajuću tehniku, kao i pronaći način plaćanja izvanrednih troškova.

2004 Reconnection project – 2019 – 15th Anniversary

Until May 2001 European Association of Public Power Companies worked under the name Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission (UCPTE). Due to the process of liberalization and preparation for the opening of the electricity market transformation of the organization has occurred. Power generation and transmission activities were separated. In Portugal, Lisbon, May 2001, Croatian Electricity Company becomes one of the founders and a full member of transmission and power management association (UCTE).
At this time, due to inherited historical events, the European power system consisted of two parts, two separated zones; the first and the second European Electricity Zone. At that meeting under the chairmanship of Jürgen Stotz (Chief Executive Officer at Deutsche Verbundgeselshaft, Germany), it was concluded that the highest priority is the linking of these zones and the creation of a single European power system.
By signing the Memorandum of Understanding in Lisbon at this meeting, activities on the Reconnection Project started. There was great pressure at that meeting with the aim of ending the project by May 2004. Understandably, Greece showed the greatest interest. Namely, on August 13, 2004, the opening of the 28th Olympic Games in Athens was scheduled. The security of electricity supply was the first priority. At that time there was a study on possible reconnection scenarios. There were even seven of them, but no one counted that the Republic of Croatia would renew its high-voltage network destroyed during the war within that time and build two new 400 kV substations Ernestinovo and Žerjavinec. The reconnection would be made over Hungary, and Croatia would probably have been partially isolated from the rest of the European power system for years. After extensive discussions and meetings, the UCTE Steering Board established the executive team in its meeting in Zagreb in 2002 with the aim of preparing and implementing a project of a merger or electrical connection between the existing two European synchronous zones.
The Steering Board, which consisted of all European power companies, appointed a representative of the Croatian transmission system operator Ivica Toljan (Member of HEP Management and Transmission Director) and the Czech transmission system operator Jiři Feist (Director of ČEPS) for Executive Team Leader. After three years of intensive and responsible work, the Republic of Croatia has renewed its high-voltage network, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and built the new 400 kV station and the project was brought to the final stage of implementation − planned inclusion on 10.10.2004. At the last meeting of the Reconnection Team, the Hungarian representative warned that the project was unsuccessful; on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia, the phases do not have the same order, in other words, they have been replaced. That is why the power system of the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina had to be separated from European (put into island operation). In order to achieve this, it is necessary to obtain a license from UCTE and to organize over 500 people of various professions as well as all related techniques and find a way to pay extra costs.