66kV Line Between Corralejo and Matas Blancas to Be Dismantled Next Year
The Cabildo of Fuerteventura and the island’s municipalities are working with Red Eléctrica to define a concrete roadmap for the removal. Red Eléctrica plans to start the works next year, once all prerequisite procedures are completed. The works will not affect electricity supply.
The Cabildo of Fuerteventura held a meeting on Thursday with representatives of Red Eléctrica to review the roadmap for dismantling the old 66 kV transmission line and to coordinate the process with the island’s municipalities.
The dismantling, to be carried out by Red Eléctrica, will take place after the new double‑circuit 132 kV corridor is fully operational and once the necessary administrative authorisations for removing the old line are obtained.
In preparation for the removal, which complies with the Environmental Impact Statement for the 132 kV corridor, Red Eléctrica is cooperating closely with the Cabildo. The company has met with mayors of all municipalities crossed by the line to explain the procedure and will jointly inform landowners together with the Cabildo and other authorities.
“As soon as we formed the governing team, the island corporation demanded that the 66 kV line be taken down,” said island president Lola García.
“We have held several meetings with Red Eléctrica. What we now request is a clear roadmap shared with all local administrations, so that this line, which cuts across the entire island and impacts the territory and landscape, can finally be removed,” García added.
Planning minister Nereida Calero emphasized thatit is essential to ensure the dismantling is carried out with the utmost respect for the environment and that the entire installed infrastructure is removed.” The meeting also included Tuineje mayor Candelaria Umpiérrez and councilors José Díaz (Pájara) and Ana Hernández (Puerto del Rosario).
Daniel Pérez Varela, director of Infrastructure for Red Eléctrica in the Canary Islands, stated that a total of 352 support structures will be dismantled along the Corralejo‑Matas Blancas route, spanning the municipalities of La Oliva, Puerto del Rosario, Antigua, Tuineje and Pájara. The works will be carried out in accordance with existing environmental constraints and the planned preventive and corrective measures, including the removal of all infrastructure and the restoration of the land to its original state.
Red Eléctrica forecasts that the works will begin next year. Planning is already underway so that construction can start as soon as all prior procedures are completed. The new 132 kV corridor will guarantee uninterrupted electricity supply.
The dismantling will involve:
- Removal of the 352 support structures and their conductors
- Tensioning and removal of the live and grounding cables
- Disassembly of the structures and collection of conductors, grounding cables, and insulator chains
- Destruction of foundations and removal of surplus civil‑work materials
- Where applicable, removal of the bases of the former supports
These actions will restore the affected areas to their pre‑installation condition.