The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 325 million loan contract with Iberdrola Distribución Eléctrica SA to finance the upgrading of the power grid in Spain and the installation of 3.2 million smart meters for consumers. The loan agreement was signed in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Román Escolano and Iberdrola’s CEO, Ignacio Sánchez Galán.
The EIB Vice-President described the loan as “a highly important operation in which EIB funds will support the necessary measures to improve Spain’s power supply system, on both the supply and demand sides – two key goals of the EU’s energy policy. Upgrading the power grid will especially help to stem losses and ensure a more reliable and efficient supply, while replacing the bulk of old meters with so-called smart meters will foster more rational household electricity consumption, leading to savings for end consumers and a reduction in CO2 emissions”.
The investments financed will be spread across ten Spanish regions: Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León, Valencia, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and the Basque Country.
This is the latest in a number of loan agreements signed by the EIB and Iberdrola since the start of their cooperation in the late 1980s.
