The domino effect triggered by Donald Trump with his tariff artillery, which yesterday sparked the reaction from Europe, has not diminished Iberdrola's appetite for the United States. Amidst the global crossfire against Trump's protectionism, Ignacio Galán demanded "clarity" on regulatory issues from the Republican leader on Wednesday. Just 24 hours earlier, the Spanish electric company's president committed to investing $20 billion (almost ¤18.4 billion) in the North American country over the next five years.
Galán was in the US these days to participate in the CERAWeek Congress, a sort of Davos Forum for energy organized by the S&P Global rating agency in Houston, Texas. It is the largest sector event in the United States and one of the most important in the world. In the presence of other industry leaders such as Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy, Galán urged Washington to offer stable and predictable energy policies.
"Only with clarity on current policies can we provide long-term contracts, which is beneficial for everyone," he insisted. However, the regulatory uncertainty plaguing the US since the change in the White House did not prevent Galán from offering a multibillion-dollar investment commitment to high-ranking officials of the Trump administration as a presentation card.
The US is Iberdrola's largest investment market, the leading European utility by market value, with a market capitalization of $86 billion. In 2024, the group allocated $4 billion to this market, accounting for nearly 33% of the Spanish company's total investment effort in 2024, a 30% increase from the previous year. Although the company keeps an eye on Washington's policies, it also resists changing its trend of increasing the weight of the US as an investment destination, at the expense of Spain.
On Tuesday, Galán held his first meetings with the new Donald Trump Administration, specifically with his Energy and Interior Secretaries, Chris Wright, a fossil fuels magnate, an energy source that Galán is particularly combative against at home. In addition, the executive is meeting with other top-level officials, such as the President of the National Energy Dominion Council and US Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum. These meetings demonstrate the relevance of the Spanish company in the North American country.
Its US subsidiary, Avangrid, had 2.3 million electricity supply points and one million gas customers at the end of 2024, with growth in both divisions, both in users and in the volume of energy distributed, compared to 2023.
As part of Galán's trip to the US, company officials have pointed out that after two decades of presence in the country, they have assets worth $50 billion spread across 24 states. The group employs more than 9,000 people in this geography, where 80% of its business is in electric networks. "Currently, the company operates over 170,000 kilometers of power lines in the states of New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts, among others," they emphasized.
But not everything is smooth sailing for Iberdrola in the North American country. In the latest annual accounts, the multinational recorded provisions amounting to ¤1.308 billion, mainly due to accounting impairments on "onshore renewable assets in the United States," as the energy company anticipates a "delay" in the development of its local project portfolio.