The Fundación IBERDROLA has selected 63 projects for its “Energy for Solidarity” social aid programme for 2010. This initiative is designed to collaborate with those projects that contribute to the well-being and quality of life of groups at risk of exclusion.

In this first announcement of the programme, the Foundation has received more than 600 applications from associations throughout Spain. The main groups that will benefit from this aid are people with functional diversity, the elderly and individuals who find themselves at risk of social exclusion.

This social aid programme finances 50% of the total amount of each selected project, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros.

The applications received by the Foundation have undergone an evaluation and selection process which has taken into account aspects such as innovation, technical quality, management capacity, economic-financial solvency, the scope of the social base of the organisations, and the impact on the beneficiary groups.

In addition, and in line with the IBERDROLA Group's commitment, the initiatives that included environmental and management efficiency and sustainability measures were assessed during the selection process.

Thus, of the total funds being subsidised, the Foundation will allocate 57% to projects aimed at fighting poverty and social exclusion; 24% to actions designed to protect the environment and fight climate change, carried out by groups of disadvantaged people; and the remaining 19% to other initiatives that help improve the quality of people's lives.

This social aid programme is part of the Fundación IBERDROLA's 2010-2014 Master Plan, whose main goals include moving towards a sustainable energy model and fighting social exclusion through energy projects, as well as contributing to cultural development in the territories where the Company operates.

About the Fundación IBERDROLA

With Ignacio Galán as Founding Trustee and Manuel Marín as Chairman, the Fundación IBERDROLA began a new stage in 2009 aimed at contributing even more actively to the improvement of the quality of peoples' lives, respect for the environment, sustainable development, and preservation and promotion of the historical-artistic heritage.