Iberdrola España exceeds 38,000 self-consumption units installed on its network in Alicante

i-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, has exceeded 38,000 self-consumption contracts connected to the electricity grid in the province of Alicante until the first half of 2024. Overall, the new connections contribute over 258 megawatts (MW) of 'green generation' to the system.

The number of contracts for self-consumption installations in the province has multiplied by 2.4 in just a year and a half, rising from 15,000 contracts at the end of 2022 to more than 38,000 in June this year. It is worth highlighting that over 1,000 of these contracts are for collective self-consumption.

As an accelerator of the energy transition, since 2022 the i-DE has been carrying out dissemination work with the actors involved in the process to inform, promote and facilitate self-consumption, as well as reinforcing equipment to be able to meet the demand in the connections of this type of installation.

In recent weeks, the company held two training sessions in the province in collaboration with the Federation of Metal Entrepreneurs of the Province of Alicante (FEMPA) and with the Alicante branch of the College of Industrial Engineers of Valencia, which have also highlighted the importance of training in occupational safety. In addition, i-DE holds meetings with regional and national public administrations, as well as with the Spanish regulatory body, the CNMC.

For Guillermo Raga, i-DE’s Director in the Eastern Region, "electricity grids are essential to enable the energy transition, as they are the bridge between renewable energy generation and the consumer, whether an individual or a company. Traditionally, the electricity grid was static and unidirectional, whereas, with new consumption habits, such as self-consumption, it is necessary for the grid to be bidirectional, with communications between all actors. For this reason, it is essential to invest more in grids".

According to Raga, "at i-DE we facilitate self-consumption and proactively support its development with numerous measures that we have implemented. We have improved the efficiency of processes, digitised information, strengthened our teams and carried out very intensive dissemination work with all the actors involved in the process".

i-DE manages approximately 30,000 kilometres of low and medium voltage lines and over 1,000 km of high and very high voltage lines in Alicante. Furthermore, the distribution company has 10,500 transformer stations in service and 51 primary and secondary substations. In recent years, the company has undertaken an ambitious plan to digitalise its electricity grids, where it has converted its more than 1.4 million meters and the infrastructure that supports them into smart meters, incorporating remote management, supervision and automation capabilities.