etn Energie- und Telecom Netze GmbH from Austria certainly know a thing or two about cables – the company markets, installs, connects and repairs all kinds of cabling – but that’s not the half of it; etn creates and maintains entire energy and telecommunication networks. It has particular expertise in high-voltage and very-high-voltage transmission lines, in manufacturing and repairing complex cable connections, and in developing bespoke solutions for network operators. The firm boasts considerable technical know-how and skills that are as rare as hen’s teeth right across Europe, and are thus in great demand when the balloon goes up; etn are immediately on the spot to lend a hand with large-scale power outages and network failures.
This has earned etn a reputation as the “fire brigade of the electric power world”, and they once again swung into action in Berlin after an arson attack on a cable bridge at the beginning of the year. The upshot had been a major power cut leaving 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses in the southwest of the German capital with no power, but two technicians from the Austrian energy and telecom network specialists cut short their holidays and set off to the rescue. The challenge with this particular job was to connect old-style, low-pressure, oil-filled cabling with modern XLPE cables. This is arcane expertise, with only a handful of specialists who have any idea of what to do and how to do it – and six of these wizards just happen to work for this particular Austrian company of cable installers.
With etn’s support, it was possible to restore the power supply much more rapidly than anyone had dared hope, and the Austrian company once again confirmed its role as a reliable and essential partner for critical infrastructure.
