Spain and Portugal pressure France to speed up electrical interconnections

BarcelonaFollowing the massive blackout on April 28, Spain and Portugal have urged the French government to set "specific deadlines and binding commitments" regarding the electricity interconnection corridors between the Iberian Peninsula and France, a key element in avoiding future incidents on the electricity grid. Both countries propose a meeting of energy ministers to be held this year. This is stated in a letter sent by Spain's Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, and Portugal's Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, to their French counterpart, Minister of Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci. The Spanish government released the letter this Saturday.

"The unprecedented blackout of April 28, which impacted the entire Iberian Peninsula, has highlighted the need to strengthen interconnection infrastructure. This incident clearly illustrates the critical role of cross-border connectivity in safeguarding the stability of the electrical system. The document insists that this is "a priority" not only for the three affected countries, but for the EU as a whole. The massive blackout, the Spanish and Portuguese ministers indicate, requires action from both a technical and political perspective.

Although there has been progress in recent years, the Energy ministers recall that the Iberian Peninsula is still an "energy island" and that interconnection levels (currently at 3%) are still below the EU's targets of 10% by 2020 and 15%.

Although there has been progress in recent years, the Energy ministers point out ... Improving interconnections will have a positive impact on decarbonization objectives, price convergence, and supply stability, in addition to fostering cohesion among the various Member States.

Aagesen and Graça Carvalho regret that two of the interconnections between Spain and France, the Aragon-Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Navarre-Landes interconnections, have been excluded from the French network development plan for 2025-2035, despite the EU considering them to be of general interest. "These projects have long had the status of projects of common interest under EU designation, and now, more than ever, they are an urgent matter," they claim in the Paris government.

In the letter, they also recall that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to express his concern about the matter, who responded that technical studies are already underway. Macron also emphasized that this is a "sensitive" issue for local communities on both sides of the Pyrenees. For all these reasons, both ministers urge France to participate in a ministerial meeting in 2025, so that the three countries and the European Commission can define a roadmap with "milestones and concrete steps" to achieve European objectives.