The European Investment Bank- EIB has gone on to announce two varied loans of €462 million and €190 million for Enea from Poland and RESA from Belgium, respectively, for the modernization of the distribution network.
The investment of PLN2 billion in Poland, which is equivalent to €462 million, or $499 million, will support the development and modernization of Enea Operator’s distribution network, while the €190 million, equivalent to $205 million, investment in Belgium will aid the Liège electricity and gas operator to modernize, strengthen, as well as digitise their networks.
Transforming the Polish energy sector
It is well to be noted that the EIB’s loan to Enea is meant to boost the reliability as well as security of electricity supplies, help with the group’s energy transformation, and also foster the progress of renewable energy sources across north-western Poland.
The loan agreement happened to be initiated in 2023 with the first tranche worth PLN1 billion, i.e., €231 million or $249 million, and goes on to sync with the Group’s Development Strategy so as to transform the Polish electricity sector, executing projects for zero emissions as well as expanding distribution infrastructure so as to accommodate the very evolving distributed energy sector.
The president of Enea SA, Paweł Majewski, commented on the modernization loan, stating that they are regularly investing billions of PLN so as to expand their portfolio when it comes to zero-emission energy sources, which in the very future are most likely to offer cheap as well as environmentally safe electricity.
According to him, this is a process that wants not just time, but massive funds allocated in terms of modernizing the distribution network, which happens to be the foundation for further development when it comes to renewable energy.
The financing that’s obtained from the EIB is going to be used for modernization as well as the construction of medium- and low-voltage energy networks, thereby connecting new customers and new renewable energy generation capabilities to the network and installing smart meters.
The financial support of EIB for Enea Group’s distribution network development stretches from 2023-2025 in north-western Poland’s voivodeships: West Pomerania, Greater Poland, Lubusz, as well as Kujawsko-Pomorskie.
The investment will go on to cover 2023-2025 and will be executed across north-western Poland, in the following voivodeships such as West Pomerania, Greater Poland, Lubusz, and also Kujawsko-Pomorskie.
Investment when it comes to upgrading Belgium’s electricity grid
The inking of the loan agreement, as stated by the EIB in a release, is going to be crucial for its execution when it comes to the first part of the operator’s industrial plan for 2023-2026.
The investment bank from Europe cites consumption forecasts, which are at both the EU and national levels, and also observes consumption trends that point out unavoidable and huge electrification, which is a result of rising uptake of clean tech assets like heat pumps along with electric vehicles.
As per the bank, RESA will go ahead and invest an indexed amount, which will be almost €820 million or $865 million by 2050, and this excludes the project subsidies.
On top of the yearly investment envelopes of almost €80 million or $86 million, this goes on to represent an overall investment of around €3 billion or $3.2 billion in the next 25 years.
So as to partly finance this industrial energy shifting plan for 2023-2026, RESA as well as the EIB went on to conclude that the loan agreement, which is worth €190 million, will be used, apart from an envelope of €60 million or $65 million as provided by the DSO, in order to complete the initial investments within the electricity grid.
This is going to majorly involve boosting the power of overhead installations as well as underground cables, transformers, along with substations, and the deployment when it comes to digital meters so as to enhance network autonomy.
Kris Peeters, who happens to be the EIB vice president, said that the EIB, being the EU climate bank, is indeed committed to advancing the REPowerEU Plan so as to promote the sustainability of the EU energy sector and, at the same time, also reduce the European Union’s energy dependency.
He added that the financial support that is offered to RESA due to its energy transition industrial plan goes on to reflect their commitment so as to foster sustainable as well as inclusive growth through the climate change fight.
The CEO of RESA, Gil Simon, added to this, stating that the present collaboration with EIB, happens to be the first of its kind for RESA and goes on to demonstrate the credibility of the institution, its governance, as well as the sound management of all the finances.
He goes on to say that it is going to strengthen their capacity to deliver the energy transition goals within the short term and execute more resilient energy solutions that will help them to face this new energy space in a very inclusive, economically viable, and socially equitable manner.
