Protesters initiate new lawsuit over proposed Costa del Sol electricity substation

The citizens' platform against the location of the first electricity substation in the Torrox Park area of Torrox Costa on the eastern Costa del Sol has started a new lawsuit after Malaga Public Prosecutor's Office shelved a previous complaint filed in 2023. The group, which includes residents and the parent-teacher association of two schools in the area, is now trying a new legal route to try to stop the work, which is financed by electricity company Endesa, from going ahead.

President of the group Antonio Ruiz explained to SUR on Tuesday 3 December that the new lawsuit is based on an alleged violation of the Andalusian town planning law by Torrox town hall, “which omitted the approval of the project at a full council meeting with the aim of allowing the construction of the substation to go ahead at all costs”. In his opinion, the licence “is null and void because it was not taken to the council meeting”.

But the residents’ group has considered that “not only is the project illegal from the beginning,” but, that it incurs “several illegalities, among which stands out the fact that it is in a flood zone”. They argue that “after what we have seen happen in Valencia due to the effects of the Dana, it is clearer than ever that no one should have allowed the construction of an electricity substation on flood-prone land. Anyone can check this on the Junta de Andalucía website. The area is clearly floodable, not only from the river, but also from the streams that run through the substation grounds,” Ruiz argued.

Ruiz pointed out that despite the measures that have been taken, such as raising the height of the substation with a wall, “the risk of flooding is still there”. He went on to say, “The substation will use oil, and underneath there are crops, so there is a risk of contamination.”

“Families are still very concerned because the future of several schools and an entire neighbourhood is at stake,” said the residents’ group in a statement.

Torrox town hall sources have declined to respond to this new legal action being taken by the citizens' group. Mayor of Torrox, Óscar Medina, said in April that the town hall will continue to demand from Endesa that “the radiation will be zero when the substation comes into operation”. It is expected to be up and running in 2025, after an investment of nine million euros by the electricity company.

The town hall has stressed on a number of occasions “the fundamental importance” of the new electricity substation, the first in the town, which now has more than 20,000 registered inhabitants, to enable new urban developments and avoid power cuts.