Hotelier as pioneer

Turracher Höhe: How electricity came to the mountain

Tourist Hans Leeb has brought electricity to the Turracher Höhe with his Lichtbaugenossenschaft.

(Bild: Hochschober)

Almost 70 years ago, a tourism expert ensured that the Turrach was supplied with energy from the valley. Now Kelag is expanding the supply - and ensuring greater safety, among other things!

In the early 1950s, blocks of ice were used to cool food, laundry was boiled in a kettle and a generator powered by petrol and kerosene produced electricity for the first accommodation on the Turracher Höhe. This was the time without electricity in the popular skiing and hiking resort.

But because this had reached its limits, tourism expert Hans Leeb founded a lighting cooperative in 1957, bringing electricity safely to the mountain. "People only realize how important electricity is when there are outages. On the Turrach, we often have to deal with weather-related blackouts," says Karin Leeb, the granddaughter of electricity pioneer Hans and current manager of the popular Hotel Hochschober.

She is therefore delighted with the latest investment made by Kärnten Netz to ensure the security of the power supply on the mountain. "Disruptions have increased enormously on the Turrach due to the weather conditions. We have therefore replaced two 20 kV overhead lines from Winkl near Ebene Reichenau to Turrach with two underground 20 kV cable connections," says Michael Marketz, Head of Kärnten Netz. "This will improve the security of supply and create a basis for the further development of operations on the mountain."

"Secure supply even during storms"
The largest electricity consumer on the Turrach - the mountain railroad - is also relieved. Head Fritz Gambs: "The expansion means a more reliable supply - even during storms." Marketz adds: "If there is a disruption, we can intervene from Klagenfurt!" For the responsible mayors Karl Lessiak (Reichenau) and Wolfgang Schlick (Stadl-Predlitz, Styria), the investment is "an important prerequisite for further development as well as the water supply and sewage system". The network is due to go into operation by the end of the year, by which time around 100 pylons will have been dismantled.