The company presented in Koprivshtitsa the progress on the two projects it is implementing under the LIFE program
EDG West commits to securing a total of 6,600 electric poles, installing 4,900 marking devices (diverters), and installing 900 platforms for stork nests within the two projects, which it implements under the LIFE program together with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB).
The progress on these projects was presented at an event in Koprivshtitsa on December 7. To date, a total of 4,700 poles have been secured, 3,000 diverters have been installed and nearly 940 stork platforms have been installed on the territory of Western Bulgaria.
Bird-safe power lines contribute to the conservation of endangered bird species and provide a reliable power supply. The marking devices – diverters, are placed on the riskiest overhead wires to make them more visible to birds in flight and to minimize the danger of collision with them. A safety console has now been developed which also makes the poles safe for birds. The first 20 prototypes have been installed in the field.
“EDG West has a responsibility both to nature and to customers to provide them with a reliable supply of electrical energy. The collision of the birds with the grid causes power outages for residential and business customers and increases the costs and carbon footprint of the electricity distribution company responsible for maintaining the network in Western Bulgaria with a length of more than 57,000 km,” said Krum Gledjarski, Head of the Management Department of quality” in EDG West.
“On the territory of Sofia region, 595 poles out of the planned 877 have been secured so far, 215 diverters out of the planned 1000 have been installed and 181 risky stork nests have been raised,” added Maria Georgieva, head of the “Ecology” sector at the company.
For its overall environmental protection policy, the company was ranked first in the b2BMedia contest “The Greenest Companies in Bulgaria” for 2023.
