SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 26 Aug (EUROPA PRESS) –
Endesa, through its subsidiary e-Distribución, has activated over 2,500 remote controls across the Canary Islands and anticipates finishing 2024 with 2,729 remote-controlled installations in medium voltage, amounting to a total investment of 32.8 million euros over the past five years.
The deployment of remote controls within the electricity grids of the islands signifies a considerable enhancement in service through systems that facilitate remote and, in some instances, automatic operation of medium voltage distribution hubs.
This leads to improved service quality and a swift reduction in incident response times, as noted by the company in a statement.
The electricity provider intends to introduce 228 additional remote controls this year, with an expenditure of five million euros.
Since 2019, the islands have been at the forefront of reducing incident response times, recording a 49 percent improvement, while the national average stands at 43 percent.
Endesa’s commitment to digitising the electricity networks in the Canary Islands has remained steadfast in recent years, with investments of 2.7 million euros in 2019, 3.3 million euros in 2020, 8.5 million euros in 2021, 6.6 million euros in 2022, 11.7 million euros in 2023, and an additional 5 million euros planned for 2024.
This financial dedication means that currently, 30 percent of the medium voltage electrical network in the Canary Islands is now automated.
In fact, over half of the remote controls installed in the archipelago have been activated from 2019 to 2024.
As this year concludes, the installed remote controls on the islands will achieve significant levels of system automation, consequently enhancing the capacity to respond to potential incidents within the electrical networks.
In this regard, El Hierro stands out as the only island where automation has nearly been completed, featuring 24 remote controls, while installations continue in La Gomera, which has reached 40.
Similarly, in Fuerteventura, there are 258, and Lanzarote has 231, reflecting a commendable degree of automation.
Endesa emphasises the situation in La Palma, where by the year’s end, there will be 112 remote controls in place. This includes the new and state-of-the-art facilities in Tajuya, inaugurated earlier in the year, which were unfortunately destroyed by the eruption of the Tajogaite volcano.
GRAN CANARIA LEADS WITH OVER 1,000
Gran Canaria boasts a total of 1,078 remote controls, while Tenerife has 952. Investment has been notably higher in these two principal islands due to the larger scale of their networks, which encompasses greater installed capacity and number of supplies.
The installation of remote controls is among the primary initiatives undertaken by Endesa to realise a digitised network capable of addressing emerging technological challenges in electricity generation and distribution.
In this context, e-Distribución is contemplating the extension of the investment programme past 2024, given the unique characteristics of the networks in the Canary Islands, which span many kilometres across a topography shaped by the islands’ natural landscapes.
