Company warns growing demand is unsustainable

THE power company Gesa-Endesa yesterday warned that the growing demand for electricity expected over the next five years, especially from the industrial estates, will be hard to sustain given the current energy facilities in the Balearics. The warning came just months after the company said that there was no danger of any major power failures this summer, because of its investment in new power stations and substations. Despite its current investment plan, the company has called on the regional and central governments to support the creation of new infrastructures for generating, transport and distributing electricity in the Balearics in view of the increase in demand expected over the next five years. So far this year, the company has received various demands from big companies to link up to the network over the next five years, which will mean an increase of 641 megawatts. This represents 55 per cent of the current record consumption of 1'215 megawatts on July 28. A spokesman described the increase in request for connections as “spectacular” and attributed it to the increase in industrial estates in the Balearics. They are demanding 280 megawatts, which is 44 per cent of the total requested by the big companies.
PENDING CONNECTION
The spokesman also underlined the requests for new residential developments or expanding existing ones, which represents 22 per cent of the total megawatts pending connection and which will be incorporated into the network over the next five years.
The demands for power are centred mainly in Majorca, which accounts for 71 per cent of the total power pending the signing of contracts and 69 per cent of the total requests.
The figures for Minorca are 17 and 15 per cent respectively, and for Ibiza and Formentera, 12 and 16 per cent.
The company's concern comes just days after union representatives warned that a Public Share Acquisition Offer (OPA) on Endesa would endanger the 1'507 million euro investment planned for the Balearics over the period 2005-2009.
According to the unions, this bid would have direct repercussions on the improvement and maintenance of the electricity installations in the region.
Improvements to the generators, the distribution networks and substations would all be affected, and jobs could be lost, the unions warned at the beginning of the week.