The Xunta authorizes the undergrounding of the power lines …

The Department of Economy and Industry of the Xunta de Galicia has authorized the relocation and undergrounding of the overhead medium voltage lines (LMT) affected by the expansion and improvement of Alcalde Alfonso Molina avenue, in the municipality of A Coruña. The decision appears in the resolution of September 22, 2026, from the General Directorate of Energy Planning and Mines (DXPEM), published in the Official Gazette of Galicia (DOG) no. 196, of October 15, 2026, section VI, pp. 52746 to 52765. The file, processed under number IN407A 2025/154-1, is promoted by UFD Distribución Electricidad, S.A.

Origin: a State roadwork project

On August 6, 2025, UFD submitted a request for prior administrative and construction authorization to the Territorial Department of A Coruña. The affected installations are the LMT EIR733 and EIR721 lines, 15 kV, which fall within the scope of the expansion and improvement works of the avenue, promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MITMS) between kilometer points 1+050 and 3+550.

The execution project, titled “Relocation LMT, RBT expansion of Alcalde Alfonso Molina avenue AC-11,” was signed on August 1, 2025, by electrical engineer Carlota Martínez Rúa, member no. 4,776 of the Official College of Technical Industrial Engineers of Vigo (COITIVigo). The total budget amounts to 131,121.29 euros and the planned execution period is 38 days.

What will be done

Relocation of support AF3AE908//D8 (lattice-2000-18), replaced by a new support C-9000-18 (X:548568, Y:4797994).
Relocation of support AF1T11I6//D7 (C-4500-18), replaced by another C-9000-18 (X:548586, Y:4797933).
Removal of spans between the relocated supports: 103 m of LA-110 conductor, for a total of 206 m.
Retensioning of two spans: one of 119 m and another of 267 m.
Undergrounding of the lines with RHZ1-240 type conductor, with double overhead-underground passage and 165 m per circuit, 330 m in total.
Civil works with channeling of four pipes in a 0.4×1.2 m cage and directional drilling with six pipes (four of 160 mm and two of 200 mm).

The affected sections run from the branch to CT Elviña (15CBA9) to the branch to CT Maristas (15PBA7), in the case of EIR733, and from the branch to CT Escorial (15CDVH) to the branch to CT Fábrica de Armas (15PBJ2), in EIR721.

The crossing with the Covigo pipeline

The most delicate point of the file is the passage of the new channels through the security zone of the Covigo pipeline (A Coruña-Vigo), owned by Exolum Corporation, S.A. Hydrocarbon regulations prohibit works within ten meters of the axis, although they allow this distance to be reduced if expressly requested and if the conditions set by the competent body are met.

Exolum gave its consent on August 25, 2025 (reference 2025-0301) and reiterated it in the allegations of June 4, 2026, always subject to full compliance with its technical conditions. UFD responded on July 3, 2026, accepting the security measures but rejecting the clauses that, in its opinion, exceeded the scope of the file. The resolution finally authorizes the reduction of the distance to 10 m in accordance with Exolum’s conditions.

Processing, deadlines and appeals

Entities to which the project was sent: State Roads Demarcation in Galicia, A Coruña City Council and Exolum.
None of them responded to the request for a report, therefore their consent is understood (article 47.3 of Law 9/2021).
The file is exempt from the public information process (article 50.b of Law 9/2021) and is not subject to an environmental impact assessment.
Implementation period: six months from the last necessary authorization.
Administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) before the counselor of Economy and Industry within one month.

The resolution bears the signature of the general director of Energy Planning and Mines, Pablo Fernández Vila, and is dated in Santiago de Compostela on September 22, 2026.

Impact

The authorization unlocks an action that directly conditions mobility at the main entrance to A Coruña: as long as the lines remain on the surface, the avenue expansion works cannot be completed. The undergrounding eliminates the risk of interference between the electrical infrastructure and traffic, reduces the visual impact on the surroundings, and guarantees the supply to the transformation centers that serve the area, in addition to resolving a critical interference with the Covigo pipeline.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia, no. 196, October 15, 2026, section VI, pp. 52746-52765 (official reference: bxdfwhl4-wid1-w5a4-ph49-kiiva7pz4ku7).