Stork Platform Campaign

EVN Bulgaria’s Stork Platform Campaign is an annual campaign during which artificial nesting platforms are installed on the poles of distribution power lines in order to safeguard white storks nesting on top of the pillars from electrocution.

Objectives:

• Safeguard a protected bird species, the white stork, from electrocution by installing insulated nesting platforms
• Conduct field observations and technical inspections of distribution grid lines on EVN’s entire territory of operation
• Secure the grid infrastructure in order to increase its reliability

 

Main information:

Since EVN first started its Stork Platform Campaign, 1651 nesting platforms – ensuring a safe distance between the stork nest and the electric parts of the pole – have been installed. The installation periods have been harmonised with the birds’ migration and breeding periods. These actions have led to diminished bird mortality and – thanks to damage prevention – an increased reliability of the grid. The challenge of protecting the white stork while improving grid security is of growing importance in Bulgaria and in Europe, as studies show that half of the stork nests are built on electric poles, and that this ratio is increasing. Internal evaluations have shown that at least 61% of EVN’s installed platforms are regularly used by birds.

In its campaign EVN is supported by NGOs and established a successful cooperation with organisations such as the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds, Green Balkan or Foundation Biodiversity. The practice is also conducted with great support from citizens and local authorities, who actively send signals when they spot fume or come across storks who have fallen from their nests, as EVN is also involved in storks rescue actions.

Additional information:

• EVN Bulgaria Elektrorazpredelenie EAD (EVN EP) is an electricity distribution company that operates in South-East Bulgaria and provides electricity for more than 1.5 million customers. Even if mounting artificial nesting platforms is not the core business of EVN EP, it is part of its environmentally responsible policy and therefore an established practice
• Bulgaria has one of the biggest migration flows of the white stork, a vulnerable bird species protected by the Biodiversity Act in Bulgaria. As old trees disappeared, storks started building their nests on electric power poles. The nests coming in direct contact with the power lines can result in a short circuit and sparking, causing serious harm for both the grid and the birds