The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the multi-utility ACEA today initialled a EUR 100m loan for the planned investments on Rome’s power grid. This loan is the first tranche of the EUR 200m financing operation approved in June by the EIB in support of ACEA’s four-year energy sector plan (2008-2011), which will cost over EUR 400m.
The project, which is in line with the EIB’s lending criteria in the energy and environmental sectors, provides for investments to upgrade and extend the capital city’s existing grid. The scheduled works are aimed at satisfying load growth, enabling the connection of around 8 000 new users a year and improving the reliability of supplies and the automation and remote control processes. The works include the planning, laying and putting into service of medium and high-voltage overhead lines and underground cables, medium and low-voltage substations, primary substations and other power distribution equipment.
The strengthened relationship between the EIB and ACEA, a listed company 51%-owned by the Municipality of Rome, forms the backdrop to the loan concluded today. A year ago the Bank granted a EUR 200m loan to the multi-utility for its planned investment in integrated water services throughout the Province of Rome.
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EIB
The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically viable investment projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the Bank. At end-2008, the EIB’s total financing amounted to EUR 355bn, of which EUR 45bn went to Italy.