Today, the Minister for the Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López, has visited the headquarters of Redeia, the global operator of essential electricity and telecommunications services, and met its chairwoman, Beatriz Corredor, and its CEO, Roberto García Merino. During the visit he was informed of the company’s role as the backbone of Spain’s ecological transition and digital transformation.

In this context, Corredor told him how Redeia, including Reintel and Hispasat, is performing a fundamental role in the field of telecommunications, contributing to the expansion of universal connectivity in our country. It is doing this through both the largest dark optical fibre network, and through satellite, offering internet access where fibre cannot reach. The latter is provided through the Conéctate 35 programme of the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan implemented by Hispasat, whose objective is to cover 100% of Spain’s territory.

López and Corredor agreed on the need to continue the expansion of telecommunications so that digitalisation and connectivity come to form a true structural framework that helps to reduce inequalities and encourage social and economic progress across the country.

The minister said that the Conéctate 35 programme offers an 'affordable satellite broadband service' and is 'one of the Spanish Governments’ strongest measures to integrate the country and provide support for rural areas.'

'In Spain today, all households, wherever they live, have access to broadband. Of all the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Spain is the third largest user of optical fibre, only behind South Korea and Japan. This leading position in digital connectivity gives us a competitive advantage at an international level which is decisive for attracting investment and raising the productivity of agricultural, industrial, and tourism activities, but also enables public authorities to improve the quality of the services they provide for the citizens'.

For her part, Beatriz Corredor underlines the need to tackle the digital transition 'with sustainability' so that 'it is a fair and universal transition that is accessible and inclusive and serves to correct inequalities instead of increasing them'.

As regards Redeia’s central role in the electricity sector, at the Electricity Control Centre (Cecoel) López saw in real time how the electricity system operates and how it guarantees the integration of renewable energies into the system with complete safety. This task, which Red Eléctrica, a Redeia company, carries out from its Renewable Energy Control Centre (Cecre), has enabled us to ensure that more than 55% of the power generated so far this year comes from these sources.

Redeia’s chairwoman explained to the minister the work that Red Eléctrica is undertaking to reinforce and develop the transmission grid by applying its current plans. Both agreed on the importance of having a robust and connected system to ensure the quality and security of the supply to cover the new demands created by the process of digital transformation and the electrification of the economy.

Similarly, Corredor stressed the vital role of new technologies and digitalisation in the continuous improvement of the transmission grid. Red Eléctrica is carrying out many projects such as Asumo, to manage grid assets in real time and improve the response time for incidents; the deployment of DLR to monitor meteorological parameters and integrate renewable energies more efficiently, or the Origen project for managing the Transmission grid, which has won innovation awards and made it possible to digitalise assets like plans, technical documents, point clouds, and 360º tours to enable more efficient and accessible information management.