Works are always complicated, and even more so if they are carried out in the middle of a public road. When it comes to installing an electrical grid that runs a few meters from the ground along more than four kilometers between Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, every inch must be measured and taken little by little. Endesa has been immersed in the deployment of this new high-voltage line since the summer of 2022, with the forecast of finishing the work by the end of the year.
The operators are now concentrated in the Font de la Guatlla neighborhood, on a street a few meters from the Gran Via and the Magòria-La Campana station, with the coil of electrical cable placed where there is usually a green area square. The cable must be stretched to connect it with the other underground splices that have been distributed along the route, which will allow isolating sections when an incident occurs and reducing the impact. This area depends on the Hostafrancs substation, one of the three infrastructures that will improve its connection, as will those of Mata, in Poble-sec, and Ronda de la Torrassa, in the neighboring city.
The new grid will have a power of 110 kilovolts (kV) and replaces a line that was 30 years old, taking advantage of its route and completing the city's high-voltage connection through Montjuïc. All in all, the service of 224,000 customers in Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat will be improved, but also that of Cornellà de Llobregat.
The budget for the action is five million euros, included in the city's investment plan, agreed with the Barcelona City Council. "More lines will be built," says the head of Endesa's high-voltage grid in Barcelona, Julián Mateos. To the planned outlay, almost one million euros have been added, which has served to improve the three substations located along the route, replacing transformers and protection systems, and incorporating new fire prevention measures.