• The work that will be carried out in the vicinity of the Soto de Ribera substation will improve the meshing of the transmission grid and increase the capacity to evacuate the power generation in the area.
• The project includes the installation of a new reactor and the compaction of the feeder lines that connect to the substation.
• Completion of the works is scheduled for the end of the year.
   

Red Eléctrica de España will invest more than 9 million euros in the vicinity of the Soto de Ribera substation to improve transmission grid meshing and facilitate the evacuation of power generated in the area. The Company has put forward these actions in a presentation attended by Isaac Pola, Regional Minister for Employment, Industry and Tourism of the Principality of Asturias; Delia Losa, Government Delegate in Asturias; José Ramón García Saiz, Mayor of Ribera de Arriba, and Eva Pagán, Red Eléctrica’s General Manager of Transmission Division, who were accompanied by Carlos González Patiño, Red Eléctrica's Delegate for this region.

A new reactor has been installed in the Soto de Ribera substation and has been equipped with an acoustic screen. The function of the reactor is to maintain the voltage of the electricity transmission grid within the appropriate parameters, thus avoiding overvoltage surges and improving the quality of the system.

The new reactor, in which the Company has invested 3.7 million euros and which was commissioned in July 2018, has a nominal reactive power rating of 150 megavolt-amperes and its dimensions are 7.6 x 3.45 x 4.1 meters (length x width x height) and weighs 103 tonnes.

An acoustic screen of more than 120 meters long and 4 meters high has been installed to absorb the acoustic noise level of the reactor. The acoustic panels have been specially designed as part of an R&D+i project of Red Eléctrica.

In vicinity of the substation, the compaction of four incoming feeder lines has been planned. The lines affected are the 220 kilovolt (kV) lines from the Tabiella and Carrió substations, along with the 400 kV lines from the Salas and La Robla substations. In addition, the Tabiella line will see its voltage level increased from 220 to 400 kV, which will increase its transmission capacity, and will connect up to the Grado substation.

Line compaction, with an investment of 6 million euros, is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will enable several sections of the aforementioned lines to be dismantled, thereby reducing the impact on the environment near the substation, freeing up around 370 hectares in the area.

All of these actions are part of the ASGA (Asturias-Galicia axis) project whose objective is to improve the meshing of the transmission grid and increase the capacity to evacuate power generation in the area, and are included in the 2015-2020 Electricity Infrastructure Planning, approved by the central government.

During the presentation, Eva Pagán, General Manager of Transmission Division for Red Eléctrica, highlighted the Company’s commitment to the territory, the environment and towards sustainability and expressed the Company’s appreciation to all the public administrations involved for their collaboration.