New 400 kV Moreruela substation authorized in Zamora

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, under the Secretary of State for Energy of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has granted Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U. the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the new 400 kV Moreruela substation, furthermore declaring, specifically, the public utility of the installation. The resolution, signed on September 15, 2026, by the director general Manuel García Hernández, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora number 108, dated September 16, 2026 (reference R-202602196).

The infrastructure will be located within the municipal boundaries of Moreruela de los Infanzones and Piedrahita de Castro, in the province of Zamora, and is set to become a key node in the electrical transmission network of the area.

A project framed within state planning

The application from Red Eléctrica was submitted on November 29, 2023, and was processed in accordance with Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, which regulates transmission activities and the authorization procedures for electrical installations. The substation is included in the Electrical Energy Transmission Network Development Plan 2021-2026, approved by Agreement of the Council of Ministers on March 22, 2022, and in its modification adopted on April 16, 2024.

The file was initiated in the Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Zamora and was subjected to public consultation through announcements in the Official State Gazette (no. 309, of December 27, 2023), in the BOP of Zamora (no. 1, of January 3, 2024), in El Correo de Zamora, and on the notice board of the Piedrahita de Castro City Council, without any objections being received.

Technical characteristics of the installation

The new substation will feature three bays, five equipped positions, one partially equipped position, and three unequipped reserve positions. Its main characteristics are:

• Nominal voltage of 400 kV and highest voltage for equipment (Um) of 420 kV.
• AIS technology, in an outdoor and conventional open-air installation.
• One-and-a-half breaker configuration, with a short-duration short-circuit current of 50 kA.
• Positions planned for the Villarino 2, Grijota 2, and Moreruela 1 collector lines, among others.

Environmental constraints and deadlines

The project was submitted to an environmental impact assessment, with an Environmental Impact Statement formulated by the Resolution of June 26, 2025, from the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment (BOE no. 171, of July 17, 2025), subsequently modified in its condition 18 by the Resolution of April 30, 2026. Among the required measures are the prior surveying of the land to detect threatened fauna, anti-collision devices for avifauna every five meters on the ground cables, and the insulation of the live connecting bridges.

The construction authorization is granted with a period of twenty-four months for the issuance of the operating authorization, counted from the notification of the resolution. The declaration of public utility affects seven cadastral plots distributed between the two municipalities and enables Red Eléctrica to occupy public domain or patrimonial lands necessary for the installation. An administrative appeal may be filed against the resolution before the Secretary of State for Energy within one month.

Relevance for the province

The 400 kV Moreruela substation reinforces the capacity of the electricity transmission network in western Castilla y León and facilitates the evacuation of renewable energy from the area, a strategic factor for the development of new generation projects. Its commissioning, subject to environmental conditions and the processing of aeronautical easements before the State Aviation Safety Agency, will mark a milestone in the modernization of the provincial electrical infrastructure.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora, no. 108, September 16, 2026, I. State Administration, pp. 11-19 (official reference: R-202602196).