Enel was awarded 3.5 billion out of the 4 billion allocated by the Pnrr to upgrade the networks. But investments could more than double, up to an additional 5 billion, with funds from RepowerEu. “We are discussing this recalibration of resources with Minister Lease,” announces Enel CEO Francesco Starace.
What will the Pnrr funds be used for?
Strengthening the capacity of low and medium voltage networks, which bring energy to homes and businesses, to accommodate the production of distributed renewable plants. And to support the electrification of energy consumption, giving more capacity to those who request it in terms of increased power for 1.5 million delivery points. And again, to increase the resilience of the grid throughout the country to cope with extraordinary weather events. The announcement came out a year late, but we’re finally here: work has begun throughout Italy on 24 projects. There is a concentration in the South: 1.7 billion goes to Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia, Campania, Sardinia, Abruzzo and Molise, where there was more need especially for resilience. A 10% share is added to the Pnrr funds, for 350 million, recognized by the Arera as an incentive to complete the work on schedule.
The government is working to reallocate the Pnrr funds that it is feared will not be able to spend and to strengthen the interventions with the funds of RepowerEu. Will Enel also be involved?
Dialogue is already underway on these issues with the Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto who is dealing with them specifically. We have verified that in the event that RepowerEu funds can be spent between 2023 and 2027, we could make further investments of between 2 and 4 billion, both for resilience and to absorb renewable capacity. If instead, as we are thinking of doing, the time period were extended up to 2030, investments could be between 3 and 5 billion. The possibility of investing more is proving to be fundamental because with the energy crisis the requests for the connection of renewable plants have exploded. The demand for electrification is also growing: many companies, in the paper sector and other sectors, are moving away from gas to switch to self-produced renewable electricity. Every month we register more requests for connection to solar panels than the previous one, for a year now. Minister Fitto is trying to carry out a recalibration of the funds also of the Pnrr which cannot be allocated in the time available with the funds of RepowerEu.
Could some of it end up on the networks?
Either on networks or on other matches. There is the big question of storage, which is the other side of the coin. If you increase the percentage of renewables, you may need more batteries than originally planned and therefore there could be a dedicated chapter in RepowerEu.
But will you be able to respect the times of the Pnrr?
We started two years ago with a training program for network technicians, together with Elis and 180 companies in the sector, calculating that we would need at least 5,500 specialized workers. We have already trained 2,000 people; the others will arrive next year. But now we have a much larger pool to draw from, with another 10,000 training applications. So we are able to respect the times of both the Pnrr and additional investments.