The management of RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Électricité) highlight the level of agreement that has been reached throughout the entire project

On the 18th and 19th of June, the Chairman of RTE’s Management Board, Dominique Maillard, and the President of RTE’s Supervisory Board, Didier Mathus, went to the construction site of the future electrical interconnection between France and Spain to inspect the project’s progress. They were satisfied with the development of the underground link and praised the level of agreement reached with the local authorities and companies in the area throughout the entire project. They were accompanied on their visit by Laurence Mugniery, RTE’s Director of Communication and Public Relations; Valérie-Anne Lencznar, the Coordinator from Inelfe; and Yves Decoeur, the Chief Executive Officer of Inelfe.

On the first day, the management of RTE, which owns a 50% stake in Inelfe together with the Spanish company REE (Red Eléctrica de España), met representatives from the companies in the local area, as well as the President of the Chamber of Agriculture, Michel Guallar. The next day Maillard and Mathus visited the project site. First of all they went to see the tunnel that will house the electrical interconnection. Then they visited one of the power line’s two converter stations, the one located in Baixas, France (there is one on either side of the Pyrenees). Here they received representatives of Siemens, the company which built the stations.

The interconnection between Spain and France, which is 64.5 kilometres in length and which is due to become operational in the middle 2015, will increase the power exchange capacity between the two countries from 1,400 to 2,800 MW. Furthermore, it will enhance the security of the regional and national power supply and will promote the integration of more renewable energy in the power grid.