The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business — through the Regional Resilience Fund — will provide €870 million in financing to Naturgy to support the energy company’s investments to strengthen, upgrade and digitalise its distribution network in Spain.

In 2025, a record €11.6 billion of EIB financing went to electricity grid and storage system projects worldwide.

“This will support investments in energy security in five autonomous communities: Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castile and León, Galicia and Madrid,” said the EIB.

“All but Madrid are cohesion regions. The financing will enable investments in 2 300 km of network for both new construction and reinforcement, to expand the grid and make it more resilient, increase security of supply and integrate more energy from renewable sources.

“The first of the loans has been signed, for a total of €520 million channelled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business through the Regional Resilience Fund (financed with NextGenerationEU funds under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan).

“The EIB is the ministry’s strategic partner for implementation and management of the Regional Resilience Fund.

“The second loan has been approved for a total of €350 million, with €200 million already signed. It will be financed entirely from the EIB’s own resources.

“Among other measures, the loans will be used to invest in automation, remote control and digitalisation in the grid, connecting new users and meeting increased demand, implementing security measures, reducing grid losses, and putting infrastructure underground and making it more compact.

“The project will increase the resilience of Naturgy’s entire distribution network in Spain, which has over 116,000 km of power lines. It will also increase security of supply in the face of recurring adverse natural phenomena, rising demand resulting from the electrification of the economy, and more electricity generation from renewable sources.

“The arrangement also underscores the commitment of the EIB and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise to economic, social and territorial cohesion, with more than 80% of the total investment going to cohesion regions, where income per capita is below the EU average.”