EDP Distribuição renewed and established fuel management lanes along the High and Medium Voltage overhead power lines in the district of Coimbra, in the forest spaces previously defined in the Municipal Plans for the Defense of the Forest Against Fire, in order to ensure the improvement of the quality of service and the safety of the electric network.
Vegetation clearing work has been carried out since the beginning of this year along 101 km of High Voltage airlines and 219 km of Medium Voltage airlines in the Cantanhede, Lousã, Mira, Miranda do Corvo, Montemor- o-Velho, Oliveira do Hospital, Penacova and Soure. Work is currently under way in the other municipalities of the district of Coimbra.
The refurbishment and constitution of the fuel management lanes, which aim to ensure passive protection of infrastructures and the isolation of potential ignition hotspots in this district, represent an investment of around 430 thousand euros.
By the end of 2019, EDP Distribuição will invest 11 million euros nationwide in inspection and intervention actions in the protection zones and fuel management bands along the electricity distribution lines. Of this amount, 8.8 million euros are related to the management and cleaning of vegetation around electricity lines and 2.2 million euros in inspections. The increase in investment compared to 2018 (around 33%) is associated with the increase in the number of approved Municipal Forest Fire Defense Plans, as well as the increase in prices of these services since the 2017 fires. Since 2008, the company has already invested a total of € 72 million in infrastructure security, with a direct impact on the defense and protection of forest heritage.
