The pipeline supplies water from the Cinqueta River and the Plandescún reservoir to the Lafortunada hydroelectric power plant, currently operated by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (CHE). The plant was operated by Endesa for 75 years, until 2019, when it was taken over by the CHE.
Residents have denounced the lack of maintenance throughout the network, including water leaks from the hydropower facility that threaten the infrastructure itself. They also point to the lack of cleaning in the plant’s head pond, which prevents it from operating at maximum capacity and results in lower electricity generation.
“The CHE’s management of the returned hydropower facilities has been a complete disaster due to a lack of maintenance and care, endangering infrastructure such as the Lafortunada-Cinqueta facility,” stresses Valero Aguayos, coordinator of Aragón Existe.
ARAGÓN EXISTE WARNS OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO OTHER HYDROPOWER FACILITIES
Aragón Existe warns that concessions to private companies for up to 20 hydropower facilities across Aragón will expire in 2027 and believes the situation at the Lafortunada plant could be repeated. In 2019, the plant remained shut for a year because the CHE was unable to bring it back into operation, which, according to the Aragonese group, resulted in losses of four million euros.
Aragón Existe adds the lack of maintenance at other returned Pyrenean power plants to this situation. It cites the burst pipeline at the Barrosa plant in Bielsa in January 2019, which halted operations for a month, as well as the complete shutdown of the Urdiceto plant in Pineta, which has not operated since it was returned in 2019.
For Aragón Existe, these cases demonstrate the CHE’s complete lack of management capacity and willingness to work on hydroelectric facilities. The group also criticizes the Confederation for hiring Endesa and Acciona to operate these plants instead of managing them publicly.
THEY CALL FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO MANAGE THE HYDROPOWER FACILITIES
For this reason, Valero Aguayos is demanding that the CHE ensure “the long-term operating concessions for these 20 returned hydropower facilities are granted to the affected municipalities,” as they have historically demanded, since this “could provide a source of wealth that would benefit local residents themselves.”
“It has been proven that when the territory is managed from distant offices in Madrid or Zaragoza, it is a disaster for the Pyrenees,” said the Aragón Existe coordinator, before calling for the facilities to “be managed by those who know and care for our municipalities best: the town councils themselves.”
