Wasserkraft und Hochspannung

"In 1951, I came from the lowlands to the Safien Valley as a construction foreman for the tunnel from Vals (Peil) to the Safien Valley (Wanna). The challenge of tunnel construction particularly appealed to me, the Zervreila power plant was one of the first and the largest in Graubünden. You never know exactly what kind of rock layer you will encounter the next tunnel tee, so our wooden fixtures were often destroyed again. Then the tunnel was reinforced with steel and concrete. The blasting during excavation was particularly dangerous, and there were rarely any deaths. The breakthrough was then a correspondingly big event, and I still own the coin with the patron saint of mining 'Santa Barbara' today." Erwin Horat, former foreman at the Zervreila power plant tunnel construction

They are located under a high-voltage pylon of the Zervreila power plants. This power line with a voltage of 150 kilovolts carries the electricity from the Zervreila headquarters in Vals and Safien Platz to the main site in Rothenbrunnen.

The Zervreila power plants were built between 1951 and 1958. From the Zervreilastausee in Vals via Safiental to Rothenbrunnen in Domleschg, the water is channelled through 33 kilometres of tunnels and used four times. Electricity is produced for around 110,000 households, which corresponds to 565 million kWh.

Two tunnels lead through the Heinzenberg. One leads from Safien Platz to the Rothenbrunnen headquarters, which also generates the most electricity (²/³ of the total amount of electricity) due to the highest gradient of 673 metres. The other, older tunnel leads from the Egschisee to the Central Realta in Rothenbrunnen. For the Safiental and especially Vals, the Zervreila power plants are important electricity suppliers.

However, the two valleys only require a small part of the energy produced, the remaining amount is fed into the national power grid. However, if the Zervreila power plants are not in operation, for example due to an overhaul, the electricity flows "backwards" from Rothenbrunnen and thus supplies the two valleys with electricity. For Vals, the high-voltage line of Rothenbrunnen is the only connection to the national power grid.