The Chairwoman of Red Eléctrica de España, Beatriz Corredor, and the Mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, Juan Franco, held a meeting this morning to analyse the siting of an electricity substation in the area of Los Portichuelos; said substation is encompassed within the Spanish Peninsula-Ceuta electricity interconnection project included in the Electricity Transmission Grid Planning, approved by the Council of Ministers. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Regional Council of Cádiz, Irene García, and on behalf of Red Eléctrica by the General Manager of Transmission Division, Eva Pagán, the Manager of Institutional Relations and Territory Area, Miryam Aguilar, and Red Eléctrica’s Delegate for the Southern Zone, Jorge Jiménez, as well as the Deputy Mayor, Manuel Abellán, and the city’s councillors for the Environment, Urban Mobility and Parks and Gardens, Raquel Ñeco, and Sports, Javier Vidal. 

The Mayor of the La Línea has expressed to the Chairwoman of Red Eléctrica the concerns of the city’s citizens regarding the execution of this project, albeit understanding that it is a strategic course of action of the Government to supply energy to Ceuta. Regarding today's meeting, she concluded that Red Eléctrica has agreed to study an alternative to change the current location of the project, in addition to reducing the dimensions of the substation. 

To this end, both parties have set a date for the week of 5 April, after Easter, to open new channels of dialogue and to study the two aforementioned objectives in greater detail from a technical point of view.

Juan Franco thanked the Chairwoman of Red Eléctrica for her willingness to seek new alternatives to the initial proposal, underlining the special degree of collaboration between the two institutions. 

Lastly, he expressed his appreciation for the special involvement of the President of the Regional Council of Cádiz, Irene García, and her mediation with Red Eléctrica to seek solutions. 

For her part, the Chairwoman of Red Eléctrica expressed her willingness to collaborate in reaching mutually acceptable agreements regarding this project, a project which she described as still being in its infancy and whose works are not scheduled to begin for the next two or three years. She expressed the Company's interest in finding a suitable location for the uses that the Town Council plans to give to the land. 

She also pointed out the goals for the submarine interconnection between the Spanish Peninsula and Ceuta, included in the 2015-2020 Electricity Transmission Planning, which seek to guarantee the quality and security of the electricity supply and allow the integration of renewable energy; elements which are fundamental in the fight against climate change. This submarine electricity link has been included in the draft 2021-2026 Planning, which the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge has submitted for consultation. 

Ms. Corredor confirmed that the project has been under ongoing evaluation for more than three years, with the aim of establishing the best route from an environmental, economic and technical point of view. 

The project is currently in its preliminary stage, thus enabling suggestions from all stakeholders involved to be presented and considered. Once the permitting process has begun, a public information and consultation phase will be opened to allow the presentation of comments, concerns and arguments by any entity or citizen who deems it appropriate.