2021–2024 Strategic Plan: REN's investments focused on energy transition and a firm commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040

Today, REN - Redes Energéticas Nacionais presented its Strategic Plan for the 2021-2024 period, which reinforces the company's commitment to the transition to green energy without jeopardising the solid financials and outstanding operational performance that have characterised the company. REN will also seek to reduce its emissions by 50% until 2030 (compared to 2019), achieving carbon neutrality in 2040, ten years earlier than the goal set by the European Union.

The pillars of the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan support a business plan that forecasts an annual EBITDA between €450M and €470M, an annual net profit between €90M and €105M, and a net debt that will range between €2.7B and €2.5B. The weight of the Energy Sector Extraordinary Contribution (CESE) in REN's results, which since 2020 also applies to Portgás, led the company to redesign its dividend policy in order to continue to provide its shareholders a predictable, attractive and sustainable return.

Regarding the company´s investment, REN remains focused on enabling energy transition, with an expected increase of 45% in the average annual CAPEX (domestic and international), in comparison to the 2018-2020 period, exceeding €900M by 2024. This investment comprises the connection of new renewable energy projects to the grid, the reinforcement of the quality and resilience of the current network and making the gas network compatible with the injection of gases of renewable origin, namely Hydrogen. It should be noted that up to 10% of the CAPEX will be related to digital initiatives.
 The 2021-2024 Strategic Plan also institutes that the company's new funding will be green, maintaining REN's financial soundness and low risk characteristics, under a conservative financial strategy aimed at consolidating its Investment Grade credit profile.

 
In the next 3 years, REN will strengthen its commitment to fulfil the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) created in 2015 by the United Nations. The company will continue to promote, support and develop initiatives aligned with REN's sustainability strategy and with the SDGs identified as priorities. Although the main ESG (Environment, Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance) rating agencies already acknowledge REN's sustainability efforts, the company will endeavour to improve its performance by 2024.

 
Sustainability is a key vector of the Strategic Plan, and will be reflected, in addition to environmental commitments, in Human Resources policies that seek to promote diversity and link performance metrics to REN's progress in the Sustainable Development indices.