Italy’s Milan-Montalto subsea cable link’s authorization on the cards in mid-2026

November 25, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Italy’s transmission system operator (TSO) Terna is getting ready to disclose the results of public input on its new project, envisioned to connect Lazio and Lombardy via a route of around 500 kilometers, integrating renewables and increasing energy transport capacity.

With a length of around 500 kilometers and a capacity of 2 GW, the project will optimize the transit of energy between Central and Northern Italy, ensuring more effective transport to meet the growing energy demand in northern regions.

Terna plans to present the results of public consultation on the new Milan-Montalto power line on November 26, covering analyses and responses to the received comments, to citizens of the 36 affected municipalities. The data will contribute to refining location proposals and optimizing the feasibility band.

The meeting is part of the participatory planning procedure initiated by the company with the regions, municipalities, environmental and trade associations, and superintendencies affected by the work.

The TSO underlines that 68 meetings were held during the public consultation phase, which began on January 21, 2025, and lasted 120 days. Aside from the 9 Terna Meets events initially planned, the company also organized additional discussions between its technicians and the various stakeholders, including 27 in-person meetings and 32 online.

The firm elaborates that around 500 people attended the digital meetings, where the details of the project were presented, alternatives illustrated, and an opportunity was provided to express comments or requests regarding the work.

Terna emphasizes that 242 comments, out of the 518 received, actually came during such events, thanks to what it describes as an innovative digital approach being tried out for the first time on this occasion.

Once the presentation of the results of public consultation is out of the way, the Italian TSO will start detailed planning in preparation for the launch of the project authorization procedure, scheduled for mid-2026.

The project is part of the electricity backbones included in the broader Hypergrid project, which will take advantage of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) energy transmission technology to enable better integration of the renewable capacity expected in the coming years.

The subsea link involves the construction of new submarine cables between Montalto di Castro (Viterbo) and Avenza (Massa-Carrara), followed by a backbone on land obtained by modernizing the existing overhead lines between Tuscany, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, and Lombardy and converting them to direct current.

This comes several months after Terna and Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE) set the wheels in motion to develop an HVDC link between the two countries.