Red Eléctrica Española will put into operation on May 1 the new 220 kilovolt substation in Las Caletillas, in which it has invested 10 million euros, after a two-year execution. This is a “very important” infrastructure for the electrical system of Tenerife, which is part of a set of measures necessary to guarantee the security of supply throughout the North and the metropolitan area, explains REE.
The new substation has been built with shielded technology of the Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) type inside a building, “occupying less space and with greater reliability than a conventional substation”, highlights Red Eléctrica.
This infrastructure is part of the 220 kV Caletillas-El Rosario axis, the SE El Rosario 220/66 kV, and the 66 kV connection lines, which will be put into voltage in a second phase, to reinforce the supply to the metropolitan area and the north of Tenerife, and increase the security and quality of supply.
The new Las Caletillas substation reduces the dependency of the power supply of the northern area of the Island on the Candelaria substation, “improving the security of supply of a significant volume of electricity demand in Tenerife”, Red Eléctrica emphasizes.
Many of the lines that are connected today at the Candelaria substation -at the old thermal power plant- will do so progressively at the new Las Caletillas substation, “reducing vulnerability, increasing security of supply and additionally reducing the visual impact of infrastructures,” he explains.
The new Las Caletillas substation has been designed in collaboration with the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria School of Architecture, with a vertical plant façade based on local flora, and which complies with the conditions established in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement. The entry into operation of the new Las Caletillas substation, which is located next to the Candelaria thermal power plant, coincides with the maintenance work on the transmission network at the Granadilla 220 kV substation and at the access to the Granadilla- Candelaria DC 220 kV, which will be carried out on weekends and holidays from April 23 to May 14. Only the landscape integration works remain to conclude the works.
