Energy authorizes the Centenar substation in Ayora and enables expropriation

The General Directorate of Energy and Mines, under the Third Vice-Presidency and Department of Environment, Infrastructure, Territory and Recovery, has granted I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, SAU the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the new 132/20 kV transformer substation ST Centenar, in the municipality of Ayora (Valencia), and has specifically declared its public utility. The resolution, signed on June 8, 2026, by the general director Manuel Argüelles Linares, is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) number 10456, dated September 22, 2026, in section III of administrative acts, with the official reference DOGV-C-2026-27905. The declaration of public utility implies the need for urgent occupation of the affected assets and rights, which enables the expropriation proceedings.

The application was submitted by the representation of the company I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, SAU (NIF A95075578) on July 6, 2022, with registration number GVRTE/2022/2154689, and resulted in file ATASCT/2022/198/46. The project was subject to public consultation for thirty days in the DOGV number 9725, dated November 15, 2023, with a correction of errors in number 9727, dated November 17, 2023, and in the Official Gazette of the Province of Valencia number 212, dated November 3, 2023; the announcement was also published in the newspaper Levante on December 1, 2023. The list of assets and rights was displayed on the notice board of the Ayora City Council between October 23 and December 5, 2023.

A 132/20 kV and 40 MVA installation

The authorized project includes the following main technical characteristics:

• 132 kV system in a split single-bus configuration, with two line positions (L/CH Cofrentes and L/Almansa), one transformer position, one bus-tie position, and two metering positions.
• A 132/20 kV power transformer of 40 MVA, outdoor installation, mineral oil insulated and with on-load tap changing.
• 20 kV system with an indoor gas-insulated switchgear module: one transformer position, four line positions, one auxiliary services position, one bus voltage measurement position, one tie position, and one coupling position.
• A three-phase auxiliary services transformer of 250 kVA.
• A three-phase grounding reactor of 1,000 A - 10 seconds in series with a single-phase resistor of 500 A - 15 seconds.
• Two unequipped positions, with civil works already completed: one line position and one capacitor bank position.

The budget for the project amounts to 2,712,643.39 euros and the resolution grants a period of 24 months for the execution of the installation.

Three affected estates in polygon 43

The declaration of public utility is materialized in the affection of three private estates in the municipality of Ayora, listed in Annex I of the resolution:

• María Martínez Martínez: plot 297 of polygon 43, 4,680 m² of cadastral area, 1,460.43 m² of full ownership, 166 m² of right-of-way easement, and 411 m² of temporary occupation.
• Vicenta Cámara García: plot 300 of polygon 43, 2,439 m² cadastral, 1,451.39 m² of full ownership, 11 m² of easement, and 445 m² of temporary occupation.
• Heirs of Rafael Abarca Costa: plot 304 of polygon 43, 3,333 m² cadastral, 1,141.63 m² of full ownership, and 311 m² of temporary occupation.

The three plots are listed as developable land for new industrial development. The owner is recognized as the beneficiary of the expropriation proceedings.

Allegations, sectoral reports, and environmental conditions

During the processing, an allegation was received from Javier Abarca Murcia, in his own name and representing the remaining heirs of Rafael Abarca Costa, who claimed a lack of information regarding the construction of the substation on his plot; the company committed to contacting the owners and warned that, without mutual agreement, it would initiate the expropriation proceedings under Article 24 of the Compulsory Expropriation Law. The Ayuntamiento de Ayora issued reports on November 26, 2023, and March 2, 2026, the latter maintaining its technical conditions in full.

Among the consulted bodies, the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar reported on September 26, 2025 (ref. 2025C-AM-00177) regarding the occupation of the police zone of the Rambla Salada de los Pinos, without affecting the flow regime. Reports were also issued by the Diputación de Valencia, the Dirección General de Salud Pública, the Dirección General de Cultura y Patrimonio, and the Servicio Territorial de Medio Ambiente, among others. The environmental impact statement, favorable with conditions, was formulated on May 6, 2026, by the director general of Urbanismo, Paisaje y Evaluación Ambiental, and includes protection measures for the livestock route Vereda de San Roque, archaeological control of the Bancales de Piedra Seca, and prevention of tiger mosquito breeding sites.

Deadlines and appeal process

Against the resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the Secretaría Autonómica de Medio Ambiente y Territorio within one month from the day following its notification, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of Law 39/2015. The authorization is granted without prejudice to additional concessions, licenses, and permits that the company must obtain, and its non-compliance or substantial variation of the conditions may lead to its revocation.

The publication of this resolution closes a procedure initiated more than four years ago and provides legal certainty to the developer to execute the reinforcement of the distribution network within the province of Valencia. For the owners of the three affected estates, on the other hand, it opens the period to negotiate or litigate the occupation of their land, with the particularity that the declaration implies the urgent occupation of the assets.

Source: Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10456, of September 22, 2026, section III (Administrative acts), page 1 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-27905).