The FRM and Iberdrola España agree to bury power lines in the urban areas of Riojan municipalities

• The pioneering agreement in northern Spain involves a contribution of 250,000 euros per year.

The president of the Riojan Federation of Municipalities, Jorge Loyo, signed an agreement this morning with Iberdrola España (I-DE, the group's distributor) to improve electricity distribution facilities in the urban areas of Riojan municipalities. 

The agreement, which is a pioneer in northern Spain, establishes a Biennial Works Plan that will include the actions agreed by both entities and the affected town councils. The one signed today will cover the years 2025 and 2026 and will involve a contribution of €250,000 per year; i.e. €500,000 in total. 

Estimating the scope of these actions according to the budget allocated, it would be possible to undertake the burying of an overhead LV (low voltage) network cabling of about 2.5 kilometres.

The president of the FRM, Jorge Loyo, points out that this agreement is based on two priority issues for the entity he presides; firstly, "to promote the development of all the municipalities of La Rioja with actions aimed at all of them regardless of their size"; and, secondly, he has mentioned "the protection of the municipalities and their territory because it is what they appreciate most". Regarding the benefits of this agreement, he mentioned "the personal safety of the residents of the municipalities by increasing the safety of the facilities, the aesthetic improvement of urban environments and the enhancement of the landscape". 

Iberdrola España's delegate in La Rioja, Carlos Sobrino, valued this agreement and thanked the Federation of Municipalities of La Rioja for its collaboration in carrying out the work in the region, "where we are committed to offering the best quality of supply, and where i-DE, Iberdrola's distribution company, manages more than 4,560 km of low and medium voltage lines and more than 590 km of high voltage lines. We also have 2,542 transformation centres in service and 40 substations" (as stated by Carlos Sobrino).

Procedure for the identification of actions

Once the agreement is signed, the FRM will inform the municipalities of La Rioja so that they can send their requests for action, which will include the physical location of the facilities and their description. 

Once the applications are received and assessed, the Iberdrola group will send a report to the WRF before 1 November with the scope of the actions accepted and their technical and economic conditions. Subsequently, within the following month (1 December), the WRF will send the final list of the proposed actions.