Last week, a major blackout swept across Spain and Portugal, leaving millions without power and raising urgent questions about the resilience of the Iberian electricity system.
The precise causes remain under investigation, but early reports suggest at least one frequency event occurred.
In the aftermath, many are offering theories — from high renewable generation with low inertia to the peninsula’s weak interconnection with the rest of Europe (Spain imports just 1.9 percent of its electricity from neighbouring countries, far below the EU’s 15 percent target).
However, given that many details remain unknown, the focus should be on ensuring the system can withstand future disruptive events.
Instead of pointing the finger, it helps to stand back and assess how Spain can improve its overall resilience by accelerating the implementation of existing regulatory and technological reforms.
Spain has a chance to take the lead.
As it recovers from this blackout, it can complete its implementation of EU rules so as to build a more resilient, flexible and decarbonised energy system.
This could involve voltage control-based frequency response and innovative business models — such as non-firm connection agreements, which allow customers to be disconnected temporarily in exchange for reduced costs — can provide valuable flexibility.
Europe already has the tools.
The Electricity Market Directive (known as IMED) was introduced six years ago precisely to help Member States navigate a future with high renewable energy penetration. It mandates the opening of electricity markets, including those for frequency and ancillary services (that help maintain the system frequency at 50 Hz), to a broader range of actors beyond conventional generators. Provisions for energy communities, energy-producing consumers (“prosumers”), independent aggregators, and market-based procurement of non-frequency ancillary services are designed to diversify participation and reduce dependence on any single technology or provider.
Much of Spain’s market design remains anchored in the past.
Generators are still expected to deliver first-line frequency control, minimising the incentives for innovation.
This reliance risks undermining the business case for technologies such as battery storage and demand-side management, and could increase Spain’s vulnerability to future outages.
Moreover, the Iberian peninsula’s limited interconnection with the European grid exacerbates the problem, reducing the prospect of emergency support from neighbouring countries when crises strike.
Maintaining frequency stability means keeping electricity supply and demand matched in real time. Traditional fossil fuel plants adjusted generation output accordingly.
As they increasingly come offline, zero-carbon balancing technologies must step in to take over. Countries like the UK and Australia are already deploying lithium-ion batteries at scale for frequency response, but cost and durability remain limiting factors.
Some innovation, in market structures and technologies, is already underway.
This June, Spain will implement 15-minute trading intervals in its day-ahead market, a move that favours fast-responding technologies.
At the same time, certain network operators are piloting real-time voltage response tools and intelligent grid monitoring systems to detect faults before they cascade.
Maintaining frequency in a system dominated by renewables may be more complex, but it is by no means impossible. With smart technologies and the right regulation, stability can be improved. Spain now has a golden opportunity to enact EU energy market rules, and even go beyond them.
By building open, technology-neutral electricity markets where solutions compete on an equal footing, Spain can better protect its citizens from future blackouts and set the standard for a resilient, decarbonised Europe.
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Anna Bazley is head of government and regulatory affairs at grid technology firm ENODA. She was previously head of electricity networks strategy in the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.
Anna Bazley is head of government and regulatory affairs at grid technology firm ENODA. She was previously head of electricity networks strategy in the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.