Fiestas Mayores has been working since last May on the next April Fair, which is scheduled to be held from May 1 to 7. The organization has three large main contracts, in addition to other smaller but equally important ones. The first is electrical ornamentation, which has a budget of 1.2 million. The second is related to the construction of modular facilities, with a cost of 1.1 million. The last big contract is the one that corresponds to the tubular installations, that is, the cover or the structures of the booths. There is an ambitious project that starts in 2022 and that will allow cassette players to have twice the power to install air conditioning, among other improvements.
The medium and low voltage networks of the fairground date from 1973, coinciding with the inauguration of the new location of the Fair in the Los Remedios neighborhood. Since then, electrical needs have increased each year and the condition of the conductors has decreased accordingly. The technicians of Fiestas Mayores detail that, as these lines are not found under a tube, they are subject to many types of fatigue. “The natural movement of the ground, the humidity due to rain and water retention, the compaction of the albero paths every year, the potassium chloride that is applied to the albero against the water that behaves as an abrasive for the insulation of the conductors, the high intensities that they transport and the multiple repairs, splices and derivations that these drivers have, has been affecting them over the years”.
For the socialist government, all this makes it necessary to replace a large part of the drivers. The proof is in the high frequency of necessary repair interventions by subjecting these drivers to insulation tests before the event and, on occasions, to urgent repairs during the celebration.
The technicians of the Major Festivals add that the electrical infrastructure of the Real de la Feria, due to its age, does not allow the availability of a three-phase supply at 380 volts, but at 220. Until not long ago, the voltages that supplied the energy of the booths they were 125, thus achieving the regulatory voltage using two of the three phases. This means that, although the networks are well dimensioned in terms of sections, it is essential to replace all the networks and the transformation centers, since there is no neutral conductor because it has been canceled and not preserved. Therefore, in order to convert the installation to 380 volts and thus increase the available power to almost double it, all the networks and transformation centers would have to be replaced.
The electrical installation is from 1973, coinciding with the move from Real to Los Remedios
. What has been done in recent years
Among the actions carried out during the mandate of Juan Espadas are the substitutions of all the aerial networks of the amusement park; 50% of the amusement park supply boxes; of 29 concrete poles that support the aerial networks of the amusement park; of the public lighting of the amusement park; of all the low voltage underground networks belonging to transformer number 16; 50% of the low voltage underground networks belonging to transformer number 14; 30% of the low voltage underground networks belonging to transformer number 3; and 40% of the low-voltage underground networks belonging to transformer number 7. These investments have amounted to a total of 700,000 euros. In 2017 an emergency intervention was necessary to replace the medium voltage network that connects transformation centers 12, 17, 10 and 11, and that affected the supply of part of the amusement park as well as the caravan site where they are located. the houses of the fairground industrialists. These works had an amount close to one million euros.
“This is a very ambitious project that no municipal government has tackled until now, since the medium and low voltage networks of the fairground date back to 1973 and since then practically no major action has been carried out to renew them. It is a very important investment of nearly three million euros over three years and it will mean that the April Fair will have its electrical networks completely renovated and updated”, comments Juan Carlos Cabrera, delegate of Major Festivals.
The works to be carried out from 2022 for a period of three years are:
Medium Voltage
The installation is amortized, so it is necessary to renew it when it is 50 years old. It is necessary to replace the medium voltage wiring with one of 18/30Kv of dry insulation in section of 240 millimeters in aluminum. It will be at a height of 1.2 meters covered with protective concrete and installing manholes every 40 meters. A new sectioning center will also be carried out to distribute the electric line that enters the Fair in two, which would be supplied with energy by the line that serves from Tablada to Los Remedios. These works will last about four months.
Transformation Centers
The current centers will be replaced by prefabricated cabins with hexafluoride insulation according to the current medium voltage regulation, while the buildings that currently have damage and openings that allow the passage of water will be repaired. It will be necessary to replace the low voltage boxes located in these transformation centers as they are already discontinued. These jobs have a duration of five months.
low voltage network
It is about replacing the current voltage of 220/127 V with another of 400/230 V. The security needs that led to the use of the current voltage at the time have already disappeared. In addition, using a voltage of 400/230 V allows an intensity discharge of existing circuits, taking them to half the current load, giving greater security and flexibility to current supplies. “Certain low-voltage circuits have been replaced given their poor condition, so it will be necessary to review all of them and propose their replacement by a transformation center under pipelines, since these conductors are directly buried and their wear is over the years is evident”, comment the technicians to finish.
