Red Eléctrica de España has completed the replacement of ten towers of the 66 kilovolt (kV) Mácher-Playa Blanca line, in the south of Lanzarote. Thus, the Company has finalised the actions programmed for this year on the island under the Grid Asset Improvement Project (MAR) framework launched in 2010, following the acquisition of the electricity transmission assets in the Canary Islands, and in which Red Eléctrica has invested over 64 million euros.

The changing of these towers signifies an important refurbishment of the 66 kV Mácher-Playa Blanca electricity transmission line that, from Playa Blanca, is connected with the island of Fuerteventura through a submarine cable. Due to the harsh environmental conditions, the material of the towers had suffered from rust and corrosion.

With the replacement of these towers in the last month, Red Eléctrica has already renewed 70 towers, of a total of 112 that make up the high voltage transmission grid on Lanzarote. The works of the MAR Project have been particularly complex because the configuration of the electricity system on the island has meant that it was only possible to perform these tasks on live installations.

The MAR project works include the cleaning up of the safety corridors for the lines; repair and improvement of accesses to the towers; installation of identification markers on lines, and the placement and adaptation of protective measures to prevent access to frequented towers, amongst other actions.

Red Eléctrica, by means of the MAR Project, aims to integrate and improve transmission grid facilities on the Islands, in order to adapt the lines and substations of the Canary Islands to the quality standards of Red Eléctrica’s assets on the Spanish Peninsula; resolve the deficiencies of the Canary Island’s transmission grid; integrate the acquired assets into Red Eléctrica’s control systems, and implement a maintenance plan tailored to the specific nature of the Canary Island’s electricity grid.

To ensure security of supply, Red Eléctrica conducts periodic inspections of all its lines, substations and facilities on foot, from the air and thermographically,

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