CNMC asks for high tensions at Balaidos to be shelved due to project’s ‘reduced level of maturity’
Along with the necessary infrastructure to ensure the arrival of the high-speed train in Galicia, the great highway energy to Portugal and other strengthening works in areas of high production or intensive demand. Transmission network planning for 2008–2016 included a new substation in Vigo to protect the security of the city’s domestic power supply and another in Balaidos aims to alleviate problems caused by voltage surges at the Stellantis plant.. This was an old complaint from the PSA Peugeot-Citroën group. Spain’s leading car plant and the auto giant’s main production center worldwide, although it has not reached the minimum consumption levels to connect to the 220 kV high-voltage network, has been called upon to become an exception and leave behind the faltering 120 kV network. a network that causes periodic stoppages of activity and failures in workshops and computer systems at a cost of “several million euros per year.” The project never materialized on paper, and a late 2013 royal decree limiting network investment to a maximum of 0.065% of gross domestic product (GDP) ultimately derailed it.
None of the successive PP and PSOE governments that followed each other in Moncloa unearthed this proposal, which became a political weapon and a Stellantis condition for the long-term survival of the factory. The current manager’s extraordinary revision of the plan, valid until 2026, in order to adapt it to the new energy scenario, has finally opened the door to the restoration of the project.
“The needs associated with the energy transition, electrification and digitalization of the economy are leading to the emergence of new large-scale industrial projects of a strategic nature, with great potential to contribute to economic growth and employment,” says Ed.Electric. . Among them is Stellantis Vigo’s future plan to create a new industrial platform for the group. STLA Small, of which 200,000 of the next generation of electric vehicles will hit the market per year. Given the significant consumption expected at the plant, which is also implementing its own decarbonization strategy, The system operator is proposing a direct connection to the transmission network with a new substation that will cost €72 million.The largest item of the 321.4 million euros was the planning update.
By 2026 there will be high tension in Balaidos: the government will activate the project with 72 million
The roadmap for improvements to the electricity network must undergo review by the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) before final government approval. Its mandatory report, signed on January 30, “appraises favorably” the Ministry of Environmental Transition’s proposal with planning changes. Although with important exceptions.
The organization has a “positive” assessment of the changes planned in the roadmap.
Executive questions ‘urgency’ of high voltage for Balaidos. On “available information” the body chaired Kani Fernandez He intends to “translate this into an open process” at the end of December last year for the next planning with a horizon of 2030. “In particular, the only mention made directly from the electric transport network is the need to meet the demand associated with the energy transition. , as demand levels exceed 50 megawatts (MW) without providing additional information, unlike other new demand additions,” he states in his report.
The government will approve Vigo’s high voltage system in “weeks” and be operational in “3 or 4 years.”
CNMC’s position is in direct opposition to the needs and urgency of Stellantis.. During a visit to Vigo in November, Minister Teresa Ribera herself assured that the planning review would be approved “in a few weeks” and that the Nuevo Vigo project would be launched “in three or four years.” The deadline accepted by the management of the factory in Balaidos.
This is not the only action in Galicia that the CNMC objects to. Regarding the planned connection of the future pumping system that will turn the Iberdrola hydroelectric dam in Konso into the largest gigabyte of storage in the community, the manager “believes that the maturity of the project at the time of planning is very low, which could lead to a revision with significant economic consequences for the system” . “Although the inclusion of an action in the proposal is not in doubt,” he adds below the relatively new 400 kV substation called Viana and with an investment of 5.7 million dollars, “it would be desirable that the included actions have “the necessary analysis that will allow conduct a global assessment of infrastructure needs.”
Electrical network planning
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Current roadmap
In March 2022, the government approved the Electricity Transmission Network Development Plan for 2021-2026 with an investment of $6.964 million.
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Plan Update
The proposal to adapt to the energy transition was unveiled late last year. A total of 321.4 million new shares.
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The biggest game
The new substation providing high voltage to Stellantis Vigo is the largest project, costing 72 million euros.
The competition wants to delve deeper into technical limitations due to the boom in renewable energy and falling demand, which primarily affects Galicia.
The proposal to change specific aspects of the 2021-2026 transmission network development plan highlights the cost of technical constraints due to the imbalance the system experiences between supply and demand. In a containment scenario, residential and industrial consumption increases from renewable electricity due to advances in self-consumption and efficiency, as well as the effects of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. There is a need to strengthen control over tensions, “especially in the northwestern part of the peninsula.” “These needs are met through a mechanism for solving technical limitations and pilot voltage control, which implies significant system costs,” explains Red Eléctrica. Including due to the temporary closure of wind power plants with much cheaper products than combined cycle gas plants. “As an example – the carrier details in a planning review published in December – costs to combat tensions in the Galicia region amounted to more than €100 million in the first five months of 2023.”
The CNMC report that approved the changes shows that the “additional costs imposed on consumers” for the concept during the past year exceeded 600 million euros. In 2022 there were 372 million, in 2021 – 347, and in 2020 – 306 million. take into account the planning mandate to reduce technical constraints.”
Three of these four reactances are for Galicia: Abegondo, Silleda and Bearis. “Due to the favorable economic impact for the consumer,” Competition believes it would be worthwhile to further analyze “all areas currently experiencing voltage problems” to see if the proposed gain is sufficient.