EIB invests in Polish and Belgian network modernisation

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced two separate loans of €462 million and €190 million for Poland’s Enea and Belgium’s RESA respectively for distribution network modernisation.

The PLN2 billion investment in Poland (€462 million; $499 million) will support the development and modernisation of Enea Operator’s distribution network, while the €190 million ($205 million) investment in Belgium will help the Liège electricity and gas operator modernise, strengthen and digitise their networks.

Transforming the Polish energy sector

The EIB’s loan to Enea is meant to enhance the reliability and security of electricity supplies, aid the Group’s energy transformation and foster the growth of renewable energy sources in north-western Poland.

The loan agreement was initiated in 2023 with the first tranche of PLN1 billion (€231 million; $249 million), and aligns with the Group’s Development Strategy to transform the Polish electricity sector, implementing projects for zero emissions and expanding distribution infrastructure to accommodate the evolving distributed energy industry.

Commented Paweł Majewski, president of Enea SA, on the modernisation loan: “We are consistently investing billions of PLN to expand our portfolio of zero-emission energy sources, which in the future are expected to provide cheap and environmentally safe electricity.

“This is a process that requires not only time, but also huge funds allocated to the modernisation of the distribution network, which is the foundation for the further development of renewable energy.

“The financing obtained from the EIB will be used for the modernisation and construction of medium and low voltage energy networks, connecting new customers and new renewable energy generation capacities to the network and installing smart meters.”

The EIB’s financial support for Enea Group’s distribution network development spans 2023-2025 in north-western Poland’s voivodeships: Greater Poland, West Pomerania, Lubusz, and Kujawsko-Pomorskie.

The investment will cover the years 2023-2025 and will be implemented in north-western Poland, in the following voivodeships: Greater Poland, West Pomerania, Lubusz and Kujawsko-Pomorskie.

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Investment in upgrading Belgium’s electricity grid

The signing of the loan agreement, states the EIB in a release, will be crucial for the implementation of the first part of the operator’s industrial plan for 2023-2026.

Europe’s investment bank cites consumption forecasts at both the EU and national levels, as well as observed consumption trends pointing towards unavoidable massive electrification, a result of increasing uptake of clean tech assets, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles.

According to the Bank, RESA will have to invest an indexed amount of close to €820 million ($865 million) by 2050, excluding project subsidies.

On top of annual investment envelopes of around €80 million ($86 million), this represents a total investment of nearly €3 billion ($3.2 billion) over the next 25 years.

To partly finance this industrial energy transition plan for the period 2023-2026, RESA and the EIB concluded the loan agreement worth €190 million which will be used, alongside an envelope of €60 million ($65 million) provided by the DSO, to complete the initial investments in the electricity grid.

This will mainly involve boosting the power of overhead installations and underground cables, transformers and substations as well as the deployment of digital meters to enhance network autonomy.

Said EIB vice-president Kris Peeters: “The EIB, as the EU climate bank, is committed to advancing the REPowerEU Plan to promote the sustainability of the EU energy sector and reduce the European Union’s energy dependency.

“The financial support provided to RESA for its energy transition industrial plan reflects our commitment to fostering sustainable and inclusive growth through the development of state-of-the-art energy networks, which are essential in the fight against climate change.”

Added CEO of RESA, Gil Simon: “This collaboration with the EIB, the first of its kind for RESA, demonstrates above all the credibility of our institution, its governance and the sound management of its finances.

“It will strengthen our capacity to deliver our energy transition goals in the short term, and to implement more resilient energy solutions that will enable us to face this new energy era in an inclusive, socially equitable and economically viable manner.”