Costa Tropical electricity outlook not bright

POWER lines along the Costa Tropical belong to the Third World, residents complain.

Any type of bad weather brings power cuts and it is not unusual to see trailing cables even in larger towns and resorts.

The area’s unsatisfactory power provision is a lesser-known drawback than the inadequacy of its motorways, trains or water supply. The regional government is aware of the problem.

“The insufficient electricity distribution is holding back development,” an official report admits.

At present the Costa Tropical is not supplied by 220 and 400 kilovolt cables, but by a network of 66 kilovolt and 132 kilovolt lines.

Electricity demand is at its highest in Motril with a consumption of 200,000 megawatts per hour in 2005 (the latest available statistics), followed by Almuñecar and Salobreña.

Gualchos and Velez de Benaudalla account for the lowest consumption, requiring approximately 10,000 megawatts per hour.

“The existing infrastructure’s capacity is clearly insufficient for an ever-growing demand owing to increased urban development and recurring peaks of high consumption,” the report concludes.

These shortages were holding the town back, lamented Motril councillor Jose Luis Chica.

More than one development scheme has come to nothing because the Costa electricity supply simply could not meet the additional demand required for extra homes, he said.