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They are a kind of a controllable valve in the power grid: phase-shifting transformers, also known as phase shifters or cross-regulators. They enable to meter and direct the alternating current, which physically always takes the path of least resistance, in several stages. In the future, two of them will be in use at the 50Hertz substation Hamburg East. The first has been in operation since November 2022 and helps bring wind power generated on the North Sea via Hamburg to southern Germany. In this way, 50Hertz is making an important contribution to the energy transition.
The cross regulators each consist of a pair of transformers and are enclosed. With a size of 26 soccer fields, the Hamburg East substation is one of the largest in the 50Hertz grid area.
It was built in the 1970s and, following reconstruction in recent years, is one of 50Hertz's most modern facilities. It not only electrically connects the north of the country with the south - it also spatially connects the Hanseatic city of Hamburg with the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, as it is located half on the territory of each of the two states.
"Our phase-shifting transformers help us to better control the flow of electricity around Hamburg in our grid and also in parts of the TenneT network, and relieve already heavily loaded parts of the grid according to the situation."