On occasion of UN’s proclamation of 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, Red Eléctrica has signed up to this initiative with a programme of activities aimed at nurturing public awareness on the importance of electricity and its associated technologies for the development of our lives and of human well-being.
In addition, Red Eléctrica collaborates with the Spanish Committee of the International Year of Light to support the carrying out of the activities planned by this organisation.
These actions are included as part of the events being carried out by Red Eléctrica in 2015 to celebrate its 30th anniversary; a special year for the Company, which began with the inauguration of the new electricity interconnection between Spain and France; a pioneering project world-wide.
In collaboration with public and private institutions within the educational, scientific, cultural and economic sectors, Red Eléctrica is organising, in different locations around Spain, several initiatives that also respond to the Company's ongoing commitment to society to raise awareness regarding the functioning of the electricity system, its needs and the challenges for developing a sustainable energy model.
Noteworthy are the various conferences on energy efficiency and sustainable development in the Intelligent Energy Forum, organised by the Seville Chamber of Commerce for this commemoration, or the informative seminars that representatives of Red Eléctrica are giving on energy issues to professors of the European University of Madrid and to students of the Master in Renewable Energy of La Laguna, Tenerife.
The universities of Deusto and Navarra have already hosted conferences by Red Eléctrica on the electricity system and the intelligent management of energy, while the Chartered Association of Engineers of Zaragoza, the Engineering School of Gijón and the universities of Valencia, Santiago de Compostela and Vigo will organise them throughout the year.
In addition, Red Eléctrica will collaborate on the seminar "Light Sciences and Technologies for a new world" to be held from 15 to 19 June, at the Menendez Pelayo International University as part of its academic programme. Similarly, the Energy and Water Congress, organised by the Spanish Association for Energy Economics, and the First International Renewable Energy Summit, both held in Tenerife, also involved the sponsorship and participation of Red Eléctrica.
Within the teaching scope, the Company will be present at the Summer Courses at the University of Cadiz, where Company experts will explain the new technologies and practices used in the industry, especially regarding environmental matters.
Also in the summer period, Red Eléctrica will organise with the Fundación Universidades y Enseñanzas Superiores de Castilla y León the 6th edition of the Electrical Energy Campus, in which students from the universities of Castilla and León will receive professional training regarding electricity infrastructure, in addition to receiving key aspects regarding a sustainable energy model and the new trends in the electricity sector.
On occasion of the Year of Light and as part of its ongoing commitment to the local communities where its facilities are located, Red Eléctrica will carry out in 2015 a series of actions aimed at improving the well-being of people, as well as the protection and enhancement of the valorisation of the cultural heritage of these municipalities. Collaboration on projects for the lighting of the Museum of Santa Teresa de Jesús (Ávila) and the church of Montemolín (Badajoz), as well as the installation of low cost lighting in the village school of Itsaso (Guipúzcoa) are some examples of these actions.
In order to raise awareness regarding the role of electricity in the future of society, Red Eléctrica will also put together and launch a programme of different exhibitions nationwide. Noteworthy is the Movilab project, organised jointly with the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology and the CSIC; a travelling exhibition that will tour various parts of the north, east and central regions of the Iberian peninsula to promote interest in science in society, and in which the Company will participate by addressing energy matters.
Similarly, after visiting Merida, Red Eléctrica’s exhibition, ‘A highway behind the wall socket’, will visit the Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia (Tarrasa) during 2015. The exhibition aims to explain the functioning of the Spanish electricity system and raise public awareness on an efficient and responsible consumption.
The University of the Balearic Islands and the CSIC in Majorca, and the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia via their ‘Electricity Theatre’, among others, will also hold exhibitions on the theme of light, in collaboration with Red Eléctrica. During this year, the Company will also draft an informative guide on the electricity bill, entitled ‘The electricity bill for dummies’.
Red Eléctrica would like to thank all those public and private institutions involved for their collaboration on the events that it is carrying out to mark the International Year of Light and hopes that they will be of interest to citizens.
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