i-DE will invest more than €5 million building an electrical substation in Peñíscola

i-DE, the Iberdrola España Group distribution company, will invest more than €5 million in the construction of a new transformer substation in Peñíscola, Castellón and its power lines, which will strengthen the distribution network both in the city and surrounding area.

The new infrastructure will initially have a 40 megavolt-ampere (MVA) transformer, with the possibility of expanding with another machine with the same characteristics, and will have the capacity for the output of eight medium-voltage lines that will interconnect with those currently in the area. It will also free up capacity at the Benicarló substation, the facility from which the company is currently supplying Peñíscola.

Once commissioned, the substation will improve the security of electricity supply for more than 20,000 customers in Peñíscola and surrounding towns such as Alcalà de Xivert, Santa Magdalena de Pulpís and Benicarló, whose demand for electricity supply is significant due to the large residential, service and industrial sectors.

The installation is planned in a strategic location, next to the axis along which the 132 kilovolt line runs between the substations of Ingenio in Castellón, Benicàssim, Oropesa and Benicarló, making it an optimal solution for improving the quality and reliability of supply, reducing energy losses by shortening the distance between substations and consumption points, and all this with a minimum environmental impact by using a large part of the existing power lines.

Another of the benefits that the new infrastructure will bring is that it will provide Peñíscola with greater capacity for growth in the face of future requests for supply due to the establishment of new companies, urban development, the installation of charging points for electric vehicles and will facilitate the connection of self-consumption facilities, encouraging the economic and social development of the city and surrounding area.

The best quality of supply

In the province of Castellón, i-DE manages approximately 10,500 kilometres of low and medium voltage lines and more than 600 km of high and very high voltage lines. It also has 4,000 transformation centres in service and 34 primary and secondary substations. In recent years, the company has undertaken an ambitious plan to digitalise its electricity grids, converting its more than 450,000 meters and the infrastructure that supports them into smart meters, incorporating remote management, supervision and automation capabilities.

Electricity grids are essential to enable the energy transition, as they are the link between the generation of renewable energy and the consumer, whether an individual or a company. Traditionally, the electricity grid was static and unidirectional, whereas with new consumption habits, such as self-consumption, the grid needs to be bidirectional, with communication between all agents.

i-DE is immersed in digitalising the electricity distribution grid to allow more information to roll out additional energy efficiency and sustainability measures in a way that is committed to ambitious and urgent climate action. The deployment of the smart grid makes it possible to respond to new models of grid use and offer the public better service.