EIB Advances €50 Million for Iberdrola’s il·lumina to Rebuild Flood‑Damaged Valencia Grid

EIB Advances €50 Million for Iberdrola’s il·lumina to Rebuild Flood‑Damaged Valencia Grid

(IN BRIEF) The EIB has provided Iberdrola with two €25 million loans—half from its own funds and half via Spain’s Regional Resilience Fund—to back il·lumina, the utility’s project to reconstruct and future‑proof the Valencia distribution grid damaged in the 2024 floods. The work includes rebuilding lines, automating facilities, installing smart transformers, undergrounding cables and upgrading substations, benefiting over 650,000 customers and enhancing resilience to extreme weather. This funding supports the EIB’s climate bank mandate and Spain’s Recovery Plan, following an earlier €1.4 billion regional aid package. In 2024, the EIB doubled its grid and storage financing to €8.5 billion Europe‑wide.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 29-Jul-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed two €25 million loans to Iberdrola to fund its il·lumina initiative, rebuilding and upgrading the power distribution network devastated by October 2024’s floods in Valencia. This financing will underwrite infrastructure reconstruction, climate‑resilient design enhancements and grid digitalisation to bolster service reliability for over 650,000 customers.

Under il·lumina, Iberdrola will replace and modernise damaged lines, automate key facilities, install smart transformers to stabilise voltage quality, relocate overhead cables underground and reengineer transformer substations—raising some, downsizing others—to withstand future extreme weather. These measures align with the EIB’s 2024–2027 Strategic Roadmap, reinforcing its role as the EU’s climate bank and supporting the REPowerEU agenda to accelerate the green transition and cut fossil‑fuel dependence.

Half of the €50 million comes from EIB resources, with the remaining €25 million drawn from Spain’s Regional Resilience Fund—part of its Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan—managed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise with the EIB as strategic partner. Launched to spur investment across eight priority sectors, the Fund enhances access to NextGenerationEU loans for projects in housing, transport, energy and more.

In 2024, the EIB Group committed €8.5 billion to grid and storage projects Europe‑wide—double the prior year—and €1.5 billion in Spain alone, driving modernisation and renewable integration. Shortly after the floods (DANA), the EIB rapidly mobilised a €1.4 billion support package for Valencia and Castilla‑La Mancha, including direct aid to NGOs like Save the Children and SOS Aldeas Infantil.

Iberdrola’s il·lumina team of 35 specialists is coordinating nearly 1,000 local operators to redesign substations, transformer sites and low/medium‑voltage networks—transforming post‑flood recovery into a forward‑looking, climate‑proof power grid that aligns with Europe’s decarbonisation objectives.

Background information  

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

In Spain, the EIB Group signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024. This financing is contributing to the country’s green and digital transition, economic growth, competitiveness and improved services for residents.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

Regional Resilience Fund

The Regional Resilience Fund (RRF) was created to facilitate access to NextGenerationEU loans from the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the autonomous communities, with the aim of boosting investments and developing projects in eight priority areas: social and affordable housing; urban renewal; transport and sustainable tourism; the energy transition; water and waste management; the care economy; research, development and innovation; and the competitiveness of industry and SMEs.

The fund is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, which takes input from the autonomous communities and cities for investment decision-making and looks to the EIB Group as a strategic management partner

The initial phase of the RRF includes the activation of up to €3.4 billion in financing via:

• a direct financing mechanism, to co-finance EIB-supported operations in sectors like renewable energy, clean transport and sustainable infrastructure;
• an intermediated mechanism managed by financial intermediaries selected by the EIB, to support projects in urban development and sustainable tourism;
• two instruments intermediated by the European Investment Fund that will facilitate SME financing for innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.

Iberdrola

With more than 100,000 million euros in capitalisation, Iberdrola is the largest electricity company in Europe and one of the two largest in the world. The Group serves more than 100 million people worldwide and has a workforce of more than 44,000 employees and assets of more than 160,000 million euros. In 2024, Iberdrola recorded revenues of almost 50,000 million euros, a net profit of 5,600 million euros. The company contributes nearly 10,300 million euros in tax contributions in the countries in which it operates and supports more than 500,000 jobs in its suppliers thanks to purchases that exceeded 18,000 million euros in 2024.

Since 2001, Iberdrola has invested more than 175,000 million euros in renewable energies, electricity grids and energy storage to contribute to the creation of an energy model based on electrification.  The company has more than 57,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity worldwide, of which more than 45,000 MW are renewable.

Media Contact:

Maite Cordero
m.corderomunoz@eib.org
+34 606 66 82 62

Press Office
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SOURCE: European Investment Bank