„The Westschiene” pipeline increases considerable natural gas supplies security

The completion of the Westschiene pipeline at the beginning of May 2014 marked a further decisive step by EVN to improve the supply security for natural gas. The Westschiene pipeline has a length of 143 km and links the eastern interconnection point of Netz NÖ GmbH in Auersthal with the measurement and grid hub of Energie AG (formerly OÖ Ferngas) in Kronstorf. This natural gas transport pipeline runs from east to west and has a diameter of 800 mm. A special feature is the possibility to operate the pipeline in both directions, which means the natural gas flow can be switched as needed from east to west or from west to east. In this way, the storage facilities operated by EVN’s subsidiary Rohölaufsuchungs AG (RAG) in Upper Austria (Puchkirchen, Haidach and Seven Fields) can be filled during the summer months when less heating gas is normally required, while the higher winter demand can be met by transporting natural gas from the storage facilities to Lower Austria. This natural gas pipeline is therefore an important factor for the protection of supply security.