Xunta authorises 20 kV power line between Pontevedra and Ourense

The Xunta de Galicia has authorised the construction of a new medium-voltage power line that will cross three municipalities in Pontevedra and Ourense. The Resolution of 22 July 2026, issued by the Directorate General for Energy Planning and Mines, grants the prior administrative and construction authorisations for the distribution infrastructure known as LMTS 20 kV Ameixeira-Edreira. The announcement was published on Monday, 17 August 2026, in the Official Gazette of Galicia, No. 154, page 44,923.

The resolution was signed in Santiago de Compostela by the Director General for Energy Planning and Mines, Pablo Fernández Vila. The project promoter is Distribuidora Eléctrica de Melón, S.L., which submitted the application on 23 May 2024 to the Territorial Department of Pontevedra of the Regional Ministry of Economy and Industry. The file was processed under number IN407A 2024/204-4.

Infrastructure characteristics

The line is underground, with a voltage of 20 kV, and has a total length of 3,790 metres. It runs entirely through existing roadways in the following municipalities:

• Crecente (Pontevedra) — starting point at Ameixeira (distributor-distributor boundary point).
• A Cañiza (Pontevedra) — intermediate route along public roads.
• Melón (Ourense) — end point at an existing concrete support, at the new Edreira transformer centre.

The purpose of the infrastructure is to interconnect the existing distribution network with a new boundary point, improving the quality and continuity of electricity supply in the rural area crossed by the three municipalities.

Budget and legal framework

The total budget for the execution project is €655,566.01, according to the project signed by the industrial technical engineer Francisco Rubén Fernández Vayo (member No. 2,880 of the Official College of Industrial Technical Engineers of Vigo, COITIV), endorsed by this college under No. 22400594 on 26 April 2024.

The processing falls within the following regulatory texts:

• Law 24/2013, of 26 December, on the electricity sector.
• Law 9/2021, of 25 February, on administrative simplification and support for economic recovery in Galicia.
• Royal Decree 1955/2000, of 1 December, regulating transport and distribution activities and the authorisation of electrical energy installations.
• Decree 9/2017, of 12 January, establishing the competent bodies for resolving authorisation procedures for electrical installations in Galicia.

Jurisdiction to resolve the file corresponded to the Directorate General for Energy Planning and Mines because it is an interprovincial line, between Pontevedra and Ourense.

Procedures and environmental assessment

The line is exempt from the public information procedure, in accordance with article 50.a) of Law 9/2021, for distribution facilities with a voltage equal to or less than 30 kV that do not request a declaration of public utility. It was also declared not subject to ordinary environmental assessment by the Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Sustainability on 26 May 2026.

The favourable reports were issued by the Crecente City Council, the A Cañiza City Council, the State Roads Division, the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation and the Forestry Service of Pontevedra. The remaining consulted entities —Augas de Galicia, Directorate General for Cultural Heritage, Agricultural Infrastructure Service— did not respond, with their conformity being interpreted in accordance with article 47.3 of Law 9/2021.

Conditions and deadlines

The resolution imposes, among other conditions, that the promoter must guarantee the maintenance and monitoring of the facilities during construction and commissioning, and that the deadline for start-up is twelve months counted from the date of the last necessary administrative authorisation. Once built, the company must request the operating authorisation from the territorial department. Counting from 17 August, the deadline ends in August 2027.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia, no. 154, 17 August 2026, section VI — Announcements, Regional Administration, p. 44,923 (official reference: CVE-DOG: tqblw4x7-ei43-brh9-anq7-7qxqk1ozhwo5).