I-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, is investing more than €1M in improving electricity supply in Cartagena, Murcia

Iberdrola España, through its distribution company i-DE, has begun work to dismantle the overhead medium-voltage power line that runs in the area around the Salinas de Marchamalo, a special protection area for birds and a protected Mar Menor landscape.

Noelia Arroyo, the mayor of Cartagena, visited the start of the project accompanied by the i-DE Zone Leader in the region, Ángel Pallarés, and by the head of the Cartagena Sector of the company, Alejandro Mulas, who explained the different phases of the project. The councillor for Infrastructure, Diego Ortega, and the manager of the La Manga Consortium, Esperanza Nieto, among others, were also in attendance.

To remove the more than one kilometre overhead power line and its 16 pylons and continue supplying customers, a new underground medium-voltage line approximately 2.5 kilometres long must be constructed and commissioned, which will connect several transformer stations in the area.

A new switching centre was built, incorporating advanced automation systems, which will enable better integration of the new facilities into the distribution network and a greater response capacity in the event that manoeuvring is required to resolve incidents or manage maintenance work.

The company has invested approximately €400,000 in the renovation and construction of electrical installations in the salt flats area, which will reduce the visual impact and continue to improve the quality of the electricity supply in the area.

To carry out this project the relevant authorisations from the Cartagena City Council, the State Coastal Limitations and the General Directorates for the Environment, Mobility and Coastal Areas, Natural Environment and Energy and Industrial and Mining Activity of the Region needed to be requested, which have enabled these new infrastructures to be put into operation.