Iberdrola, one of the largest electricity companies in the world, has announced major capital investment plans including a boost for its UK business ScottishPower.

At a time of global economic uncertainty, Iberdrola's global investment plans are focused on high-quality investments in electricity networks and renewables infrastructure to speed up progress in the energy transition.

Its UK business, ScottishPower, the UK's only fully integrated energy company, will increase its capital spending in the UK with a new record high of £6.7bn to be spent between 2023 and 2025

This year, ScottishPower has secured a record number of green infrastructure contracts across its renewables and networks businesses, including 19 new renewable energy projects across the UK and upcoming essential construction and upgrades to its electricity grids. The updated investment plan to 2025 now supports the delivery of these new projects and sets investment at a new record.

It also confirmed plans to recruit 1,000 people in the next 12 months to support the energy transition, part of 12,000 new Iberdrola hires across the globe.

The global green powerhouse outlined an upweighted €47bn investment plan to 2025.

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Ignacio Galan, Iberdrola Executive Chairman, said: "If we are to learn one lesson from the current crisis, it is the compelling need to deliver electrification quickly for a more secure, clean and competitive energy system for all.

"The global investment plans we have set out today will help us bring more self-sufficiency and resilience against potential energy shocks in countries where we operate, by reducing our dependency on oil and gas, and by continuing their path to Net Zero. This will allow us to deliver even more value for shareholders and the communities we serve.

"We are building on a strong track of delivery across more than two decades, and our plans ensure that Iberdrola and ScottishPower remain at the centre of delivering the enhanced grid networks and the renewables that the energy transition needs globally.

"In difficult economic times, our plan will also be a catalyst for job creation. We will recruit around 12,000 people in the next three years, with at least 1,000 in the UK, and by 2030 we anticipate that our activities will support more than 500,000 jobs globally across our supply chain."

Electricity networks are crucial to deliver the energy transition and ScottishPower operates the distribution and transmission grid in Central and Southern Scotland and distribution grid in North Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Shropshire. It will invest £3.3bn to 2025, a record investment at a crucial moment in the race to net zero.

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said: "Electricity networks are the backbone of decarbonisation, bringing more renewables onto the UK power system and managing the growth in demand for electricity for heating and transport.

"Speeding up investment in this critical infrastructure has never been more crucial as the rate at which people across the UK are moving away from fossil fuels is accelerating and we now see demand for electricity doubling by 2040.

"Our record investment plan sets out to meet this demand by building more green energy security for the UK and upgrading grids to deliver more electricity to people's homes."

ScottishPower continues to be one of the leading renewables developers in the UK with almost £3bn being spent between 2023-25 across offshore and onshore wind and solar generation, increasing home grown green electricity generation in UK to support energy security.