FEDA Completes €3M Modernization of Critical Margineda Power Station
Andorra's electricity provider FEDA finishes a two-year project upgrading IT systems and geological protections at the Margineda Transformer.
Key Points
- €2.2M IT upgrade replaces 15-year-old systems for instant fault detection and autonomous load rerouting.
- €718K geological works include rockfall nets, boulder anchoring, and torrent barriers over 10 months.
- Project kept station operational during progressive upgrades, enhancing supply security and future-proofing.
- Improves national grid reliability against external outages and climate risks like recent floods.
Forces Elèctriques d’Andorra (FEDA) has finalized a two-year, €3 million modernization and protection project at the Margineda Transformer and Distribution Station (ETR), a critical node in the national electricity grid, company officials announced Thursday.
The initiative combined a full IT system renewal with geological risk fortifications. FEDA directors Marc Calvet (engineering), Jordi Travé (operations and new infrastructure), and maintenance projects manager Antoni Sinfreu detailed the upgrades during a project presentation. The station is now fully operational, delivering greater autonomy, smart functionality, and protection against disruptions.
The IT component, priced at around €2.2 million, replaced systems over 15 years old that managed supervision, control, automation, protection, and remote monitoring. The upgraded platform spots faults within seconds and acts independently—for example, during a Spanish grid outage, it rerouted loads to the French interconnection, sharply reducing effects on local users. Calvet explained that installation spanned one year, followed by another for commissioning, all conducted progressively—module by module—while keeping the facility live to prevent customer interruptions. These changes secure parts supply, simplify upkeep, and support future tech shifts, fitting FEDA's plans to handle growing demand from electrification and integrate Spain's upcoming 225 kV line. Travé emphasized the resulting resilience against external incidents.
Parallel geological work, costing roughly €718,000 over 10 months in 2025, countered vulnerabilities identified in government risk maps after 2016 and amplified by recent climate-driven incidents in Os de Civís, Aixirivall, and the Runer river. Interventions featured dynamic rockfall nets, upper slope boulder anchoring, a debris barrier at the Serra Plana torrent, hydraulic mitigations including a channeled waterway with a footbridge over a local trail, ground stability analyses, environmental assessments, and habitat restoration adjacent to the protected Margineda bridge area. Sinfreu highlighted the difficulties of operating near energized equipment but confirmed comprehensive safeguards against prospective natural events.
The enhancements strengthen the ETR's role in stepping down high voltage for distribution, elevating grid-wide dependability, security, and performance.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources:
- Diari d'Andorra•
FEDA modernitza i reforça l’estació de la Margineda
- Bon Dia•
Dos anys i tres milions per millorar la resiliència del subministrament elèctric
- Diari d'Andorra•
FEDA finalitza les obres de modernització i protecció de l’ETR de la Margineda després de dos anys
- El Periòdic•
FEDA dona per finalitzats els treballs de protecció i automatització de l’ETR de la Margineda després de dos anys d’obres
- Altaveu•
Finalitzen les obres de modernització i protecció de l'ETR de la Margineda després de dos anys
- Diari d'Andorra•
FEDA finalitza les obres de modernització i protecció de l’ETR de la Margineda