The proposal to build a second high-voltage line across the municipality of Pedrógão Grande, located in the northern part of the Leiria district and which has already several very high-voltage lines, has been denied. The municipality defends that the idea would raise "even more" the risk of fire if it gets approved. "This territory deserves more respect, as it already has several very high voltage lines," which "severely affects the rural landscape of the municipality," the executive, has shared.
However, given that in "a large part of this corridor, there is no high voltage line," the municipality believes that the proposal for the corridor "to the west of the Lousã mountain range," which has "a small section of very high voltage line" crossing Pedrógão Grande, "will have less impact." But the Chamber contended that, considering the "negative impacts that will result from it, which are large," such as with the scenery or tourism, this extremely high-voltage line "does not represent an added value for the municipality".
More than two-thirds of the victims caused by the fires that broke out in June 2017 in Pedrogão Grande, were travelling in vehicles and were surrounded by flames on Estrada Nacional 236-1, between Castanheira de Pera and Figueiró dos Vinhos. In addition to the fatalities, 253 people were injured and around 500 homes and 50 businesses were destroyed.
During the ensuing investigation, the Public Prosecutor's Office named eleven suspects and argued that electrical discharges of unclear origin from the Lousã-Pedrógão medium voltage line caused the fires in areas where there was no protective strip on the land and no fuel management. Nonetheless, the Leiria Judicial Court found neither that the land lacked a protective strip along the areas of the medium voltage line where the fires occurred nor that the fires were caused by electrical discharges, and it cleared all of the defendants in a trial.