The company presented in Mezdra 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 of these projects (“Life for the Birds” and “Safe Flight for the Danube Birds”) was presented at an event in the city of Mezdra on June 15. To date, a total of 3,680 poles have been secured, 1,200 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 most risky overhead conductors 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 prototype units are installed on the network.
“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 the Vratsa region, 281 poles out of the planned 519 poles have been secured so far, 440 diverters have been placed out of the planned 943, and 87 stork nests have been raised on metal platforms,” 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.
