COLD DROP: IBERDROLA ESPAÑA’S RESPONSE

• Iberdrola España invests 100 million euros in the redesign of the electricity grid affected by the DANA

Iberdrola España has presented in Valencia the il.lumina project, in which it will invest 100 million euros to redesign the electrical distribution network affected by the DANA on October 29th in the province. The CEO of Iberdrola España, Mario Ruiz-Tagle, accompanied by Eva Mancera, the CEO of i-DE, Iberdrola España's distribution company, has detailed the company's investment plan as well as the actions undertaken so far. 

In the words of Mario Ruiz-Tagle, “although the company, despite the enormous difficulties, was able to restore practically the entire electricity supply in less than 72 hours, at this time it is a priority to look to the future and to have an even more efficient distribution network”. For the Iberdrola España executive, “the agile performance of the more than 500 workers mobilized from different parts of Spain and the investment in grid technology made in recent years were decisive in those exceptional circumstances”.

The company has now created a team of 35 people who are dedicated exclusively to the il.lumina project, which is divided into five operational areas under the same management and has seven support areas to coordinate the work of the approximately 1,000 workers from contractor companies that will be required, most of whom will be locally based. The creation of a department dedicated exclusively to this plan is allowing i-DE to continue developing the rest of its investments in the Valencian Community normally.

Regarding the execution period, Iberdrola España has already started at the end of 2024 with the different phases of the project with the recovery of the 132 kilovolt (kV) high voltage infrastructure in the area of Catadau and Carlet and has already gathered all the necessary material to be able to develop it, both in the section of transformation centers and low and medium voltage network, as well as in the substations. The forecast is to reach 90% of the project's execution in 2025 and to finish throughout 2026.

• More than 99% of electricity restored for customers affected by the cold drop in the province of Valencia.

I-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, has already restored almost all the electricity supply in the affected municipalities since the beginning of the severe weather event.

The company is focusing its efforts on setting up generator sets and on checking and repairing of the affected low voltage network, which entails occasional power cuts.

Any customers who are still without electricity despite the power being on in their area should contact an authorised electrical installer since the problem may be with the individual installation or in the apartment complex if it is a block of flats.

The company has already contacted the corresponding administrations and associations of installers, which have already started to help coordinate the work to restore service to individual customers.

Since the beginning of the event, i-DE has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from the Valencian Community and from other regions of the rest of Spain to repair the affected facilities.

As part of this response, customer service channels have also been ramped up, information is being kept up-to-date on digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• More than 99% of electricity restored for customers affected by the cold drop in the province of Valencia.

I-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, has already restored almost all the electricity supply in the affected municipalities since the beginning of the severe weather event and continues to send its workers to those towns in need to restore service. There are now only 1,500 customers without service.

The company has 80 generators that are being connected in those areas where it is technically possible. The sets have already been connected in more than 100 locations (they are removed as soon as power is restored and set up again when needed) in the affected localities of Alborache, Alfafar, Alginet, Benifaió, Bugarra, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montserrat, Montserrat and Montserrat, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montroy, Paiporta, Pedralba, Picassent, Real, Ríbarroja, Siete Aguas, Torrent and Utiel, among others, and work is ongoing in the remaining towns where there are still customers without service.

In addition to the installation of the sets, in many of the affected towns electricity has been turned back on through the existing grid and, with most service restored, work is now focusing on checking and repairing the low-voltage electricity grid, which is a more labour-intensive and complicated process and entails minor disruptions to supply.

The company, in coordination with the Emergency Control Centre of the Valencian Government, continues to programme interventions to get the power back on at installations that supply the water treatment plants for municipalities hit the hardest.

Since the beginning of the deployment, i-DE has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other areas in the rest of Spain to repair affected installations.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• More than 98% of electricity restored for customers affected by the cold drop in the province of Valencia.

I-DE, Iberdrola España's distribution company, has successfully restored electricity to more than 98% of those initially affected and continues to send its workers to those towns in need to restore service. There are now only 2,000 customers without service.

The company has 80 generators that are being connected in those areas where it is technically possible. The sets have already been connected in more than 100 locations (they are removed as soon as power is restored and set up again when needed) in the affected localities of Alborache, Alfafar, Alginet, Benifaió, Bugarra, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montserrat, Montserrat and Montserrat, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montroy, Paiporta, Pedralba, Picassent, Real, Ríbarroja, Siete Aguas, Torrent and Utiel, among others, and work is continuing in the remaining towns where there are still customers without service.

In addition to the installation of the sets, in many of the affected towns electricity has been turned back on through the existing grid and, with most service restored, work is now focusing on checking and repairing the low-voltage electricity grid, which is a more labour-intensive and complicated process and entails minor disruptions to supply.

The company, in coordination with the Emergency Control Centre of the Valencian Government, continues to programme interventions to get the power back on at installations that supply the water treatment plants for municipalities hit the hardest.

Since the beginning of the deployment, i-DE has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other areas in the rest of Spain to repair affected installations.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• More than 95% of electricity restored for customers affected by the cold drop in the province of Valencia.

I-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, has successfully restored electricity to more than 148,000 customers in the province of Valencia, more than 95% of those initially affected, and continues to deploy its workers to those towns in need to restore service.

The company has 80 generators that are being connected in those areas where it is technically possible. The sets have already been connected in more than 100 locations (they are removed as soon as power is restored and set up again when needed) in the affected localities of Alborache, Alfafar, Alginet, Benifaió, Bugarra, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montserrat, Montserrat and Montserrat, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montroy, Paiporta, Pedralba, Picassent, Real, Ríbarroja, Siete Aguas, Torrent and Utiel, among others, and work is continuing in the remaining towns where there are still customers without service.

In addition to the installation of the sets, in many of the affected towns electricity supply has been turned back on through the existing grid and, with most service restored, work is now focusing on checking and repairing the low-voltage electricity grid, which is a more labour-intensive and complicated process and entails minor disruptions to supply.

The company, in coordination with the Emergency Control Centre of the Valencian Government, continues to programme actions to get the power back on in the installations that supply the water treatment plants for municipalities hit the hardest.

Since the beginning of the deployment, i-DE has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other areas in the rest of Spain to repair affected installations.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• More than 90% of electricity restored for customers affected by the cold drop in the province of Valencia.

I-DE, Iberdrola group’s distribution company, has successfully restored electricity to more than 140,000 customers in the province of Valencia, more than 90% of those initially affected. The company continues to those towns in need to restore service as access and installation conditions allow.

The company has 80 generators that it is connecting in those areas where it is technically possible. More than 44 of these sets have already been connected in the affected towns of Alborache, Alfafar, Alginet, Benifaió, Bugarra, Buñol, Cheste, Chiva, Gestalgar, Quart de Poblet, Montroy, Pedralba, Picassent, Real, Ríbarroja, Siete Aguas, Torrent and Utiel, among others, and work is continuing in the rest of the towns that are still without service.

In addition to the installation of the generators, many of the affected villages are being restored to the existing grid for power.

The company, in coordination with the Emergency Control Centre of the Valencian Government, continues to programme interventions to get the power back on in the installations that supply the water treatment plants for municipalities hit the hardest.

Since the beginning of the deployment, i-DE has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other regions in the rest of Spain, including its own personnel and contractors, to repair the affected installations as soon as they can be accessed.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• I-DE, Iberdrola España’s distribution company, has successfully restored electricity to half (more than 77,000 customers) of those initially affected in the province of Valencia.

The company continues to work to restore service as it gains access to the affected facilities and has already stockpiled approximately 50 generators for connection to the grid as soon as conditions permit.

Since the start of the severe weather event, the company has mobilised a total of approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other areas in the rest of Spain to repair affected installations as soon as access is possible.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.

• I-DE – Iberdrola España's distribution company – has mobilised approximately 500 people from both the Valencia region and other areas in the rest of Spain to repair affected installations as soon as access is possible.

As part of this response, our customer service channels have also been ramped up, information has been kept up-to-date on its digital channels, and communications (e-mails and text messages) have been sent to affected customers.

The company is in constant contact with the public administrations (at the state, regional and local levels) to report on the situation and progress.