Iberdrola España invests more than €10 million in Riba-roja to refurbish facilities damaged by the cold drop

The largest investment has been allocated to the redesign of the El Oliveral transformer substation, which has been modernised and equipped with resilience measures.
The company has refurbished 46 transformer substations across the municipality and undergrounded more than one kilometre of power line in the industrial estate.
The project forms part of the il·lumina plan, under which Iberdrola España is investing €100 million to build the electricity network of the future in the affected area.

Cold drop

Installation of an electrical transformer at a substation, with i-DE Iberdrola technical staff and an industrial crane.

Transformer substation located in the El Oliveral Industrial Estate

Through i-DE, its distribution company, Iberdrola España is investing more than €10 million in Riba-roja del Túria to refurbish electrical infrastructure damaged by the cold drop.

The company’s main project involves the redesign of the transformer substation located in the El Oliveral Industrial Estate, aimed at modernising the facility, increasing its reliability and strengthening its resilience against potential future flooding.

Iberdrola España has allocated €7.3 million to modernise the 132-kilovolt (kV) switchyard and completely refurbish the 20-kV system. As part of the project, two Integrated Medium-Voltage Centres have been installed on a raised platform more than one and a half metres high to minimise flood risk.

In addition, the substation has been equipped with the first Integrated Control Unit (CIMC), which brings together in a single space the new telecommunications, protection and control systems, among other features. The unit has also been installed on a concrete base that significantly increases its height above ground level.

One of the two transformers has also been replaced with a new 40-megavolt-ampere (MVA) unit, installed on an elevated structure.

Another significant part of the investment has been allocated to the refurbishment of 46 transformer substations located throughout the municipality, as well as the undergrounding of more than one kilometre of power line in the El Oliveral Industrial Estate, works that have involved an investment of €3.4 million.

Iberdrola España’s il·lumina plan in areas affected by the cold drop

These initiatives form part of the il·lumina plan, through which Iberdrola España is investing €100 million to redesign the electricity grid affected by the cold drop and build the grid of the future by incorporating new resilience and digitalisation measures.

Ignacio García Bosch, plan il.lumina project manager, highlighted the work carried out in Riba-roja del Túria, which will enable both residents and industries in the area “to benefit from a future-ready grid thanks to significant investment in more compact, modern and resilient facilities incorporating the most advanced digitalisation standards”.

Furthermore, García Bosch stressed that most of the refurbishment work “is being carried out without interrupting customers’ electricity supply, thanks to the use of generators to minimise disruption, while the notification system has also been improved to provide more effective information on scheduled outages”.

To carry out the project, the company has assembled a dedicated team of 35 professionals working exclusively on these initiatives, which also require the collaboration of around 1,000 operatives from contractor companies, mainly from the local area.

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