The electricity interconnection between the Algarve and Andalusia starts at the end of May, after the section between Puebla de Guzmán and Tavira is completed, reveals Diário Económico in its online edition, citing an official source from Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN).
This interconnection, agreed between Portugal and Spain within the scope of the creation of the Iberian Electricity Market and which, on the Portuguese side alone, cost 70 million euros, was delayed by two and a half years by Red Eléctrica España.
The situation was criticized for the negative impact generated on the tariffs of Portuguese consumers, who are already paying for this investment in energy tariffs.
The link has been waiting for the completion of the Puebla de Guzmán to Tavira section since October 2011, when, on the Portuguese side, REN completed its part of the project.
O News he adds that the delays were caused by environmental obstacles, as this line, at 400 kV, crosses the protected area of the Doñana National Park.
Sources cited by that newspaper emphasize that REN could have avoided these problems, delaying the construction of infrastructure on the Portuguese side, as long as there were no guarantees on the other side of the border for the completion of the works.
At issue are the 70 million euros of investment that was transferred, before starting to bear fruit, for national electricity tariffs. This amount involved the construction of the Tavira substation and new electricity transmission lines.
The connection to Spain aims, in addition to boosting the Iberian electricity exchange, to reinforce the security of supply capacity of the Sotavento Algarvio and Baixo Alentejo.
Diário Económico cites a document from REN which states that "whether the infrastructure is used or not, whether it brings benefits or not, consumers will invariably assume the payment of the investor's return predetermined by sectorial regulation".
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