Soela Strait Submarine Cable
OperationalIsland LinkEE35 kV6 km2026
Basic information
6 fieldsAlso Known As
Soela väina kaabel · Soela väina 35 kV merikaabel · Pammana–Emmaste 35 kV kaabelliin · Pammana–Emmaste kaabelliin
Status
operational
Owners
Project Company
Type
island link
Website
Supply Chain (3)
Project Timeline (12)
Jan 2026System Testing
By late January 2026, Elektrilevi announced in its news article "Hiiumaa-Saaremaa uus merekaabel tõstab Hiiumaa elektrivarustuskindlust" that the new 35 kV submarine cable between Pammana and Emmaste had been taken into use, replacing two older 35 kV cables. A trade press article in Elektriala further reports that the new 35 kV cable was brought into service at the end of January 2026. Since the cable could only enter service after completion of technical commission inspection, testing and energisation, this implies that system testing and commissioning were successfully completed sometime in January 2026, later than the original 11 December 2025 plan.
Jan 2026Decommissioning Complete
Elektrilevi's 27 January 2026 news item on the new Hiiumaa–Saaremaa 35 kV submarine cable reports that the two old 35 kV oil-impregnated cables between the Pammana and Emmaste separation points were replaced by the new cable. The earlier 17 September 2025 project update detailed that the project scope included lifting the old cables from the seabed and utilising (disposing of) them. Together with the January 2026 commissioning reports, this indicates that decommissioning and removal of the two obsolete 35 kV submarine cables was completed by around January 2026, later than the original 11 December 2025 target.
27 Jan 2026Commercial Operations Full Power
Elektrilevi's official news item "Hiiumaa-Saaremaa uus merekaabel tõstab Hiiumaa elektrivarustuskindlust", dated 27 January 2026, states that Elektrilevi ceremonially took into use the new 35 kV submarine cable between the Pammana and Emmaste separation points, replacing the two old 35 kV cables after three years of preparation. This indicates that the new Soela Strait submarine cable was fully commissioned and in commercial operation by 27 January 2026, later than the original 1 January 2025 projection.
Sept 2025Offshore Construction Start
In September 2025, Elektrilevi began the physical replacement works for the Hiiumaa–Saaremaa submarine cable in the Soela Strait between the Pammana and Emmaste distribution points, starting with dismantling and removal of the first obsolete 35 kV oil-impregnated cable as part of a €7.3 million project to install a new, higher-capacity 35 kV submarine cable.
17 Sept 2025Financial Other
On 17 September 2025, Elektrilevi announced that the replacement of the Hiiumaa–Saaremaa 35 kV submarine cable in the Soela Strait between the Pammana and Emmaste distribution points will involve a total investment of €7.3 million, following more than three years of preparatory work to secure Hiiumaa’s electricity supply with a higher-capacity cable.
17 Sept 2025Replacement Cable Supplier Selected
Elektrilevi selected Prysmian’s cable factory in Finland to manufacture a new six‑kilometre, higher‑capacity 35 kV submarine cable as a single continuous piece without joints for the electricity connection between Pammana (Saaremaa) and Emmaste (Hiiumaa) across the Soela Strait.
17 Sept 2025Procurement Other
Elektrilevi appointed Connecto Infra AS as its procurement partner, with Swedish subcontractor Baltic Offshore Kalmar AB, to carry out the replacement works for the Hiiumaa–Saaremaa 35 kV Soela Strait submarine cable, following over three years of preparatory design, procurement and permitting activities.
3 Jun 2024Planning Consent Awarded
Authority: Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet (TTJA) · Licence: Hoonestusluba (development/building right) for Soela Strait submarine cable replacement and existing cable 35K59
On 3 June 2024, the Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet (TTJA) issued a hoonestusluba to Elektrilevi OÜ, granting development consent to replace the existing amortised 35 kV submarine cable 35K56 between the Pammana and Emmaste separation points in the Soela Strait with a new cable L35056K along the same route, and to regularise rights over the existing 35K59 cable.
2009Cable Installation Complete
In addition to the two older 35 kV oil-filled cables from 1974 and 1982, a further 35 kV submarine cable was installed on the Hiiumaa–Saaremaa connection in 2009, providing a more modern parallel circuit across the Soela Strait between Pammana and Emmaste.
1982Cable Installation Complete
A second oil-impregnated, paper-insulated 35 kV submarine cable on the Hiiumaa–Saaremaa route between Pammana and Emmaste in the Soela Strait was installed in 1982, supplementing the original 1974 cable in providing the island interconnection.