Portugal and Spain urge Brussels for a ‘firm commitment’ to interconnections in the EU

The governments of Portugal and Spain today asked the European Commission for a “firm political and financial commitment” to advance interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the European Union (EU), following the blackout in April.
“A firm political and financial commitment is necessary, at all levels, to ensure the rapid and effective integration of the Iberian Peninsula into the European Union’s energy system. This will require an additional leap in interconnectivity and substantial investment in the European electricity grid infrastructure,” emphasize the ministries of Environment and Energy of Portugal and the Ecological Transition of Spain in a letter addressed to the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen.
In the letter, delivered today by the Portuguese minister in charge, Maria da Graça Carvalho, to Dan Jørgensen in Brussels, it is proposed to hold, “still this year, a ministerial meeting, in which, together with France and the Commission, a roadmap with milestones and concrete steps to follow to achieve the European objectives for 2030 and 2040 can be agreed upon.”
A “reinforced and urgent priority for the realization of these critical infrastructures” is also requested.
Portugal and Spain emphasize that the blackout recorded in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of April demonstrated “the urgent need to accelerate the completion of electrical interconnections with the Iberian Peninsula,” as well as “the importance of interconnectivity in the European electricity system in critical situations.”
A widespread power supply cut left, on April 28, mainland Portugal, Spain, and Andorra practically without electricity, as well as part of the territory of France.
Closed airports, congestion in transport and traffic in large cities, and fuel shortages were some of the consequences of the blackout.
This incident highlighted the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU’s energy grid, at a time when the Iberian Peninsula has connectivity below 3% with the rest of the Union.
The Portuguese government has been advocating for an increase in Portugal’s energy interconnection with the rest of the EU to 15% by 2030, through the construction of more interconnections.
The strengthening of energy interconnections between Portugal and the EU has been discussed for several years, but has never fully advanced, despite being important for increasing energy security, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, lowering costs, and facilitating the transition to renewable energies.
Portugal has an electricity grid of nearly 235,000 kilometers for distribution and 9,400 kilometers for transmission, composed of 13 operators and 6.5 million customers.
According to data from the European Commission, €584 billion is needed to allocate to the reform of electricity networks in this decade, an amount that includes cross-border interconnections and the adaptation of distribution networks to the energy transition.