The energy security of Gran Canaria's main economic engine is entering a critical phase of renewal. The Canary Islands Government's Directorate General of Energy has opened for public comment the ambitious project by Red Eléctrica de España (REE), chaired by Beatriz Corredor, to replace the cabling on the 66 kV transmission line between the Matorral substation and the T-1 support structure, near the Aldea Blanca substation. With a planned investment of €4.248.801, the operation is not only technical but also involves a significant occupation of private and public land at the heart of the island's industrial and tourism development.
The project, which encompasses a 6,8-kilometer underground route, has applied for a declaration of public utility, a legal status that triggers the "urgent occupation" of the affected land. This measure allows the electric company to acquire the land immediately to guarantee the execution of an infrastructure considered vital to prevent power outages in the Maspalomas area. Replacing the existing cable with a new single-circuit technology aims to modernize the network along a section that crosses key logistical points between the municipalities of San Bartolomé and Santa Lucía de Tirajana.
The list of affected properties and rights, published this January 2026, focuses on some of the historically significant landowners in the south of the island. The Tinojai Real Estate Group, linked to the Del Castillo family, along with the heirs of Alejandro and Pedro Fernando del Castillo Bravo de Laguna, are listed as the most affected in terms of land area. On plot 14 of polygon 11 alone, an underground easement of more than 3.300 square meters and a temporary occupation exceeding 14.400 square meters for the installation of telecommunications junction boxes and access chambers have been established.
They are not the only large landowners targeted for expropriation. Companies linked to the primary and industrial sectors, such as Juliano Bonny Gómez SRL and Agrícola Bonny SRL, will also see their plots in polygon 10 affected by the power line's construction. Investment firms like Invercasti Alfa SL and Propiedades Mejoradas SL are also listed among the affected properties. The project even impacts existing renewable energy facilities, such as wind farms, where REE (Red Eléctrica de España) will have to coordinate the new infrastructure with the pre-existing installations.
The deployment of the power line also has a significant impact on public land. The Gran Canaria Island Council and the Canary Islands Autonomous Community will have to cede space in critical areas such as the Tirajana Ravine and the service roads of the GC-1 motorway and the GC-105 road. In total, the underground easement and the areas temporarily occupied for the storage of materials and machinery will encompass tens of thousands of square meters of land, a necessary price to pay to ensure that the southern electricity grid does not become obsolete in the face of the area's growing demand.
