Rome, October 19th, 2009 - To help sustain the first signs of economic recovery, Enel Distribuzione has decided to bring forward its investment plans for the Enel Distribuzione power grid, with additional expenditure of 100 million euros to improve the quality of electricity delivery services. At least 50% of this amount, inclusive of materials and third-party services, will be carried out within the year.
The announcement was made during a meeting today between Enel Distribuzione and ANIE, which was attended by Livio Gallo, Head of Enel's Infrastructure and Networks Division, Maria Antonietta Portaluri, the Director General of ANIE, and numerous representatives of the companies involved.
"As Enel Distribuzione which has always had a strong, comprehensive local presence, reaching nearly all Italian municipalities we have decided, despite the recession, to expand our investment in the grid", said Livio Gallo. He added, "To counter this trend and support the small and medium-sized enterprises that operate in this sector, we have therefore taken a counter-cyclical decision to bring forward renewal, maintenance and development programs for the distribution network."
I am very pleased", said the President of ANIE, Guidalberto Guidi, "by the sensitivity displayed by Enel Distribuzione in launching an extraordinary investment plan for SMEs. This segment of our economy is still suffering considerably, as demonstrated by the fall of 20% in the industrial output of these companies in the first 8 months of 2008 compared with the year-earlier period.
The investment announced today comes in addition to the some 1 billion euros that Enel Distribuzione's investment plans already envisaged for this year. Of the total, 60% of third-party supplies and services have already been fully contracted. The plan has involved more than 200 suppliers across the country, a closely woven network of qualified suppliers and contractors necessary for the maintenance and development of Enel's business.
In the last twenty months, 3,650 small and medium-sized Italian companies have worked with Enel: 44% in the North, 34% in the Centre and 22% in the South, with a total contracted turnover of 2.242 billion euros (an annual average of about 1.4 billion euros).
Enel has always been one of Italian SMEs largest sources of orders. Each year the Group invests an average of 3 billion euros in Italy on the maintenance and modernization of its 500 power stations and the distribution network, which totals more than a million kilometres and brings electricity to some 30 million residential and business customers, with about 409 thousand primary and secondary transformer stations.
Moreover, the international growth of Enel has offered many Italian companies the opportunity to win new contracts in countries where the Group is now present.