Switzerland: Winterthur electricity network replaces copper lines with Aluminium

Winterthur electricity network in Switzerland replaces its copper lines by aluminium, which will support the city to save 80,000 francs a year.

The Winterthur electricity will no longer flow through copper cables in the future, whereas it will be conducted over aluminium cables. However, aluminium has a strikingly lower conductivity than copper, while this can be counterbalanced by thicker cables.

As per the report, Winterthur city considers the environmental impact of the two materials is comparable and the crucial factor was the price. Aluminium as a metal is around 40% economical than copper. The transformation from copper to aluminium should be on a process with around 3.5 kilometres of cables are replaced every year.

The savings will not have any effect on the electricity tariff, as it is said: “The measure should help to keep network costs low in the long term.”

The replacement will only affect the medium-voltage network. The low-voltage network that brings the electricity to the properties will continue to be operated with copper cables.