Two 66 kV high-voltage lines authorized in Tierra Estella

Laura Larraya Irigoyen, Director of the Industrial Planning, Energy Infrastructures and Mines Service of the Government of Navarra, has granted I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, SAU the prior administrative authorization, the construction authorization and the declaration of public utility for two new 66 kV high-voltage lines in the Tierra Estella region. Both authorizations, contained in Resolutions 156/2026 and 157/2026, of 16 July, are published in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 159, of 13 August 2026, on pages 29603 and 29616.

The resolutions respond to the applications submitted on 6 March 2026 by the distribution company, under Article 53 of Law 24/2013, of 26 December, on the Electricity Sector. The projects were subject to public information for thirty business days through notices in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 64, of 31 March 2026, and in Diario de Navarra, and include an environmental impact report (Resolutions 837E/2024 and 836E/2024, of 5 September) and authorization for uses on non-developable land (Resolutions 610E/2025 and 609E/2025, of 17 December).

Two projects for the Tierra Estella electrical node

Resolution 156/2026 (file SAT11552): 66 kV double-circuit line “Tierra Estella-Murieta” and “Tierra Estella-Estella”, affecting the municipal districts of Oteiza, Villatuerta and Estella-Lizarra.
Resolution 157/2026 (file SAT11553): 66 kV double-circuit line “Tierra Estella-Lorca 1” and “Tierra Estella-Lorca 2”, in Oteiza, Villatuerta and Valle de Yerri / Deierri.

The works include new metallic supports, stringing of 147-AL1/34-ST1A (LA-180) conductor, underground sections —2,989 and 788 metres in the first project; 2,979 and 32 in the second—, manholes, OPGW fiber optic, and the dismantling or scrapping of sections of the existing “Tafalla-Estella 1” and “Cordovilla-Recajo” lines.

Public utility: prerequisite to expropriation

The declaration of public utility is based on Articles 54, 55 and 56 of Law 24/2013 and on Articles 148 and 149 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, of 1 December. I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, SAU thus acquires the status of beneficiary of the expropriation proceeding over the affected property and rights, whose list, included as Annex III, has not varied from that subjected to public information.

The affectations concern crop and pasture plots in the four municipalities and will be valued in the expropriation phase through valuation sheets.
If there is no agreement, the Expropriation Jury of Navarra will set the compensation.
The underground right-of-way easement has a width of 3 metres (1.5 on each side of the line axis).

Allegations, deadlines and appeals

The procedure recorded ten allegations in file SAT11552 —including that of the Villatuerta City Council, which requested a global assessment of the energy node and more undergrounding— and nine in SAT11553, including that of the Yerri City Council. The developer partially accepted relocating supports and manholes to minimize agricultural impact, and justified that full undergrounding is not viable due to the technical limit of 5.1 km; in Villatuerta, 3,759 meters will run underground versus 1,829 overhead.

The installations must be carried out within a period of thirty-six months, in accordance with the high-voltage technical regulations (Royal Decree 337/2014 and Royal Decree 223/2008). The resolutions may be subject to an administrative appeal within one month before the Councillor for Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transition, and to contentious-administrative proceedings within two months.

The construction of both lines, linked to the new «Tierra Estella» substation, reinforces the 66 kV distribution network of the district and will allow the dismantling of some 965 meters of overhead line currently visible from the urban area of Villatuerta and from the A-12 highway. For affected owners, the declaration of public utility opens the expropriation route with a guarantee of compensation and the possibility of administrative and judicial challenge.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarre, No. 159, August 13, 2026, pp. 29603 and 29616 (official reference: Resolution 156/2026, F2610131; Resolution 157/2026, F2610132).