Final plan for controversial power poles ready - Mette and Brian were saved at the finish line

After over a year of fighting to have the route changed, Mette and Brian Breitenstein no longer have to give up their property for high-voltage power poles.

Mette and Brian Breitenstein are relieved that the house they bought just a year and a half ago will not be marred by new high-voltage power poles. (Photo: © Eva Nylander Thomsen, DR) 51 minutes ago

Mette and Brian Breitenstein feel they have been saved at the finish line.

A plan to erect 44-meter-high power poles, intended to help send electricity from East Lolland across South Zealand and onwards toward Herfølge, meant the couple would be expropriated.

Their red-washed rural property in Tureby, north of Haslev, which they bought a year and a half ago, stood in the way of the power poles.

But yesterday, at an information meeting, the state-owned company Energinet presented its final plans to those who had gathered in Faxe Municipality.

There was a large turnout in the hall when Energinet presented the final route and placement of the poles. (Photo: © Eva Nylander Thomsen, DR)

Energinet had decided to make three major changes – among them, moving the connection at Sonnerup and Algestrup from the eastern to the western side of the South Motorway.

And that is a huge relief for Mette and Brian Breitenstein.

"We bought our house because this was where we were going to live for the rest of our lives. So the past few months have been very stressful," says Brian Breitenstein.

That is why the couple is also relieved now, Mette Breitenstein explains.

"We actually feel that we have been heard, and I think perhaps we have been incredibly lucky, because what we emphasised in our objection is actually what they are telling us today at the meeting – that they are taking it seriously," she says.

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Citizens have been heard – for the most part

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There has been heated debate about the power poles since June 2025 ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/niels-bliver-nabo-til-44-meter-hoeje-elmaster-vi-faar-oedelagt-vores-livsvaerdi ). Citizens in several municipalities were appalled at the prospect of having one of the large power poles in their backyard – or having to move from their house and garden altogether, as seemed to be the case for Mette and Brian Breitenstein.

And it is precisely because of many discussions and objections that Energinet ended up with changes to the cable route in the final proposal, says department manager Christoffer Lilleholt.

"We held a citizen meeting here just before summer, and based on that we received about 250 proposed changes. We have worked through them over the summer, and on that basis there are a lot of small changes, but also three major places where there are actual relocations along the route," he says.

This is what Energinet's final proposal looks like. You can explore the differences between the new and previous route at Energinet ( https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/672f3b530724409ebbf54b8d8e6b7916 ).

In addition to discussions about where the power poles should be placed, there have also been major discussions about why the cables should be buried in some places but pulled across the landscape in others ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/kommuner-i-opraab-om-44-meter-hoeje-elmaster-gennem-naturomraader-det-er-helt-helt-tosset ).

From East Lolland to Vordingborg, the cables will be in the ground, while that is only the case in a few places on the final stretch up towards Køge.

Therefore, Energinet has on many occasions also changed where the poles should stand – but has consistently maintained that burying the cables in more places than planned would be too expensive and would affect the quality of the electricity.

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The route is final – for now

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The new route is Energinet's final proposal. The process now continues with two environmental assessments that will be sent out for public consultation. It is planned that both consultations will take place in 2027.

Energinet has now completed its work, and although it is good news for, for example, Mette and Brian Breitenstein, it can be bad news for others.

Because there will be citizens who lose their homes, acknowledges Christoffer Lilleholt.

"We are in dialogue with them outside of these meetings, and we will also meet with them regularly to ensure that they both understand what is happening, what options they have, and what process lies ahead," says Christoffer Lilleholt.

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