• The company will allocate €1,200 million to the digitalisation of the electrical grid and €800 million to the updating of current assets
  • The figure represents a 29% increase in total investments over the next three years (2018-2020)
  • Investments in the digitalisation of grids will increase by €400 million
  • The improvements will increase the quality of supply by 20%

Between 2018 and 2020, Endesa will invest a total of €2,000 million in the distribution sector, a figure that represents a 29% increase compared with the previous plan provided for the same period and which is part of the return on investment regulatory scheme in force until 2020. The improvement in the quality of supply and the generation of new services and possibilities for grid-connected customers, through the digitalisation of the distribution grid and the renovation and modernisation of assets, are the focal points of the investment plan in Endesa's distribution network, which carries electricity to over 12 million homes via 316,500 kilometres of power lines.

The digitalisation of the grid will be one of the key points in the development of the new energy model. Endesa will allocate an investment of €1,200 million to this sector, representing an increase of €400 million compared with the previous plan. Smart grids do not only enable the prior detection and solution of incidents, but also the integration of renewable energies in the system or the response to future customer demands, such as the mass roll-out of the electric car. With this, Endesa ensures that its customers will have a modern grid, with the necessary flexibility to respond, in the best way, to the new services and needs that will be demanded in the short term.

Within the digitalisation segment, €265 million will be allocated to the automation of the grid, with the installation of over 11,500 additional remote controls that will increase the total figure to more than 24,300 at the end of the period. The automation of the grid reduces the electricity service resumption time when an incident occurs and will improve the quality of Endesa's supply, by reducing the TIEPI (Tiempo de Interrupción Equivalente de la Potencia Instalada - Equivalent Interruption Time Related to the Installed Capacity) indicator by 20% between 2017 and 2020.

Within the new smart grid framework, the improvement of customer service channels is a priority, as is ensuring the speed and reliability of the necessary communications required for the new services. To achieve this this, commercial and technical systems will be completely transformed, as will the technological modernisation of the remote control system of the high-voltage grid and the expansion of fibre optic technologies, with a total investment of €310 million.

Smart meters are another basic component of the grid digitalisation strategy. These enable appropriate metering data to be obtained to support the new products and services on the electricity market. In this regard, Endesa has already installed over 11 million devices and will invest another €300 million to complete the current roll-out to 100% of its domestic customers and to roll out another 300,000 smart meter devices for higher power supplies.

The reduction of energy losses in the grid and anti-fraud measures will absorb another €100 million. For this reason, grid sensory devices will be installed as surveillance measures or thermographic cameras to identify fraudulent practice in real time, which will be supplemented by the improvement of existing Big Data statistical diagnostic techniques.

Endesa will also invest €1,015 million in the modernisation and updating of the electrical grid managed by the company, which will lead to actions covering a total of 10,300 kilometres of High, Medium and Low Voltage lines and 4,300 actions on substations and transformation plants.

This plan represents another step in Endesa's commitment to the territories in which it operates its distribution business within the regulatory framework of reasonable return on investment in force until 2020 and will represent an improvement in the investment in all the Autonomous Communities in which it operates.

Endesa SA published this content on 20 December 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 20 December 2017 13:09:09 UTC.

Original documenthttps://www.endesa.com/en/press/news/d201712-invest-endesa-improvement-distribution-grid.html

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