13 FEB 2024

Iberdrola España's distribution company i-DE brings its facilities closer to the VET students of the Simon of Cologne school in Burgos

  • The aim of this initiative is to promote and raise awareness of the company's activity among future professionals in the sector.

  • This installation covers the needs of the most important industries in the Gamonal industrial estate. Higher-level vocational training

A group of 20 students, from higher-level vocational training in electricity at the vocational training centre Simón de Colonia, visited the Villímar transformer substation of i-DE, Iberdrola España's distribution company. This substation is located in the neighbourhood of the same name in the capital of Burgos.

The Villímar substation, which belongs to the transmission and distribution network, has two transformers of 100 and 93 megavoltamperes (MVA), which transform the very high voltage – 220 kilovolts (KV) – into high voltage (45KV). With a total of eleven high-voltage lines, it supplies electricity to a large part of the province of Burgos and guarantees a secure supply to various sectors in the north-east of the capital.

During the visit, the students received a masterclass given by José Antonio Lara, head of i-DE's Burgos UTS, who explained the operation of the different substation equipment, auxiliary services, control, protections and transformers, as well as all aspects related to maintenance and the environment.

Furthermore, Lara showed the students the criteria for identifying an electrical installation, its topology, the basic concepts of electricity, the effects of current on the human body and practices for the prevention of occupational risks.  

The Villímar substation supplies more than 82,000 customers between the urban and rural markets of Burgos and covers the needs of the most important industries in the Gamonal industrial estate.

The aim of the visit was to provide the students with a technical overview of a substation, as well as to learn about maintenance and safety operations and work organisation, in order to promote and raise awareness of the company's activity among future professionals in the sector. The students were also able to ask doubts about the operation of the facility, which is owned by Iberdrola España.

In Castilla y León, i-DE manages more than 50,000 km of power lines, has 15,697 transformer stations in service and 246 substations. The company has improved its quality of service in Castilla y León, with the best year in its history.

In recent years, the company has undertaken an ambitious plan to digitalise its electricity grids, converting its more than 1.5 million meters in the region and the infrastructure that supports them into smart meters, as well as incorporating remote management, supervision and automation capabilities.

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