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This represents a 36% increase compared to the previous year.
E-distribución, Endesa's networks subsidiary, is using drones, AI, and real-time monitoring to bolster the power supply in the face of rising temperatures and demand peaks.
Vegetation control around power lines is combined with exhaustive inspections of the electrical infrastructure to prevent incidents.
Endesa, through its networks subsidiary e-distribución, will roll out an inspection, preventive maintenance, and vegetation management plan around its power lines this year to reduce incidents during the system's most demanding months and minimise the risk of fires near electrical infrastructure. Long-range drones, AI, and the latest technologies are being combined with fieldwork to strengthen the grid and improve its coexistence with the natural environment it inhabits.
This year, the e-distribución Summer Campaign has a budget of close to €105 million (a 36% increase compared to the previous year), destined to bolster the reliability of the electricity supply in a context where the grid must be more resilient to extreme weather events – increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, storms, and floods. The growing electrification of the economy makes the reliability of the power supply increasingly critical to guarantee the continuous operation of essential services, industrial activity, and daily life. Digitalisation and innovation are combined with fieldwork to anticipate risks and guarantee the continuity of supply.
e-distribución operates an electrical infrastructure comprising over 320,000 kilometres of power lines – the equivalent of circling the earth eight times – and serves 12.8 million customers across its distribution areas in Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, part of Extremadura, and Ceuta, through the Empresa de Alumbrado Eléctrico de Ceuta.
Preventive maintenance and digitalisation are key drivers for responding rapidly to incidents, reducing restoration times, and improving the ability to anticipate climatic and operational risks.
Since the beginning of the year, 17,337 inspections of low- and medium-voltage distribution substations have been carried out, and 11,900 km of high- and medium-voltage overhead lines have been reviewed. These reviews aim to identify anomalies early, prioritise repairs, and prevent incidents during the summer period, when the grid faces higher demand peaks and more demanding conditions.
Long-range drones: allies in inspection
A new feature of this year's campaign is the incorporation of 17 long-range drones developed by FuVeX to carry out thermographic and digital inspections of the lines. These drones, capable of operating up to 10 km away (20 times further than a conventional drone), reduce travel, risks for field teams, and emissions associated with traditional inspections.
The drones are equipped with digital cameras and LIDAR technology (Light Detection And Ranging), allowing them to create highly detailed 3D maps of the electrical infrastructure and its surroundings. Furthermore, they feature thermographic cameras that can locate "hot spots" and anomalous behaviours that are not visible to the naked eye, so that corrections can be made before faults occur that affect the power supply. This year, 45,186 actions have been carried out to correct anomalies in facilities.
AI and digital twins
All these elements make it possible to keep e-distribución's digital twin – an exact replica of the electricity grid recreated in a computing environment and combined with real-time sensor data – completely up to date.
This massive volume of information is processed using AI to enhance the capacity to analyse the state of the grid, improve maintenance, and prioritise actions.
Forestry management and natural firebreaks
Another key task within the summer campaign is the selective pruning of forestry growing around power lines, a task that is carried out respecting the stipulated distance between plant species and cables, and in collaboration with the authorities and agents in each area. 60% of the more than 320,000 km of grid managed by e-distribución are overhead lines, many in areas with vegetation, making this preventive work critical.
This year, Endesa will allocate €19.8 million to these tasks which, alongside line maintenance and inspection, employ over 2,000 people, largely from the local area, thus contributing to local development. 11,104 km of overhead lines have been patrolled to check vegetation and take preventive action to reduce the risk of fires around the grid.
The creation of corridors under power lines to act as natural firebreaks is an essential task, and new elements are incorporated every year to facilitate the work, such as remote-controlled brushcutters and exoskeletons to assist felling and pruning specialists. Ear-defender helmets equipped with Bluetooth and a radio system are also used, allowing the simultaneous connection of up to sixteen people and making and receiving hands-free calls. During the summer months, crews also have a heatstroke bracelet that monitors the wearer's temperature, humidity, and heart rate, and alerts them to a risk situation so they can stop work immediately.
Endesa's distribution subsidiary also has a mobile app aimed at all staff working on felling and pruning tasks to report items that could pose a risk to the natural environment (green waste, an illegal dumping site) so the competent authorities can remove them, or to report the existence of previously unrecorded bird nests – especially those of protected species.
Inspection and preventive maintenance work is reinforced by the renewal of key infrastructure to minimise incidents. The most notable actions focus on low-voltage lines (replacing conventional cable with bundled cable), automating the medium-voltage grid, changing cables, and reinforcing critical elements such as connectors, insulators, lightning arresters, and various protections, in addition to interventions at essential facilities (high-, medium-, and low-voltage lines; substations; protection and remote-control systems; distribution substations; and remote-controlled switching points).
Collaboration with authorities
Endesa's networks subsidiary works closely with local agents, maintaining constant coordination with emergency services, public authorities, and environmental protection agencies, with the aim of anticipating and minimising any risk situation.
Within this framework, e-distribución has specific institutional cooperation protocols that bolster the response when a forest fire occurs, especially during periods of highest risk. These mechanisms include operational actions such as the preventive disconnection of the grid in high-danger scenarios, which is key to facilitating firefighting efforts while ensuring the safety of all responding teams. Furthermore, the company deploys its technicians on the ground and to coordination centres to work alongside emergency services, ensuring an agile response that is fully integrated.
About Endesa
Endesa is the leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. It is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an integrated business model spanning electricity generation, distribution, and supply. Furthermore, the company offers value-added services focused on the electrification of energy use for households, businesses, and public administrations. Endesa is committed to the United Nations SDGs and corporate social responsibility. In the latter area, it also operates through the Endesa Foundation. Our team comprises around 9,000 employees. Endesa is part of Enel.