Image courtesy EIB
EDF, acting in its role as shareholder of French DSO Enedis, has signed the second tranche of a €1 billion ($1.2 billion) loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support Enedis’ investment programme to improve network resilience in France.
The financing will meet Enedis’ needs for the 2024-2025 period and is divided into two phases of €500 million ($587.1 million).
This second phase will partially finance the connection of 7GW of renewable generation capacity and the burying or replacement of 2,500km of power distribution lines to improve network resilience to climate challenges.
Enedis, a public utility in France managing 95% of the country’s power grid, will use the loan to bolster network resilience to the impacts of climate change and the connection of decentralised renewable energy.
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France had nearly 1.2 million renewable energy producers at the end of May 2025, around two-thirds of which were self-consumers. At the end of 2021 there were 540,000 producers, a third of which were self-consumers.
This new €500 million loan represents around 40% of the amount of these investments in 2025.
Commenting in a release was EDF group chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Fontana:
“This €1 billion financing agreement granted by the EIB in two phases marks an important milestone. It enables Enedis to continue its public service mission by helping to strengthen the resilience of the network to the impacts of the climate change and ensuring the connection of renewable energies.”
EIB vice-president Ambroise Fayolle said: “In 2024, 40% of investments in Europe to finance energy networks, interconnections, and storage were mobilised by the EIB.
“The European Union’s bank thus plays a major role in the decarbonisation and energy security of the continent. The financing for Enedis is fully aligned with this dynamic. We are therefore pleased to continue supporting EDF with this total financing of €1 billion to modernize the network and make it more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
The initial €500 million loan was signed in 2024.
Almost 90% of wind and solar energy generated in France is fed into the power grid managed by Enedis.
