The shielding of the electricity grid leads the government to shoot investment up by 30%

MadridThe stability of the electrical grid depends, among other things, on cables, stations, or substations. That is, on the infrastructure, as was evidenced after the massive electrical blackout of April 2025. At a time when there is a desire to move towards the electrification of the economy, as set out in the 2023-2030 National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, the challenge of ensuring this stability is enormous. It is in this context that the Spanish government has long assumed that it must be reinforced and modernized, especially because it wants to continue promoting the increase in electricity consumption. And this Wednesday, another step was taken: the Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, has announced a historic investment of 17 billion euros within the framework of the electricity planning until 2030, which is currently being processed.

The figure is 30% higher than the initial proposal (an investment of 13.6 billion euros was proposed to cover electricity demand needs and achieve the marked objectives). After analyzing up to 2,566 allegations, some of which were presented by the Generalitat, during the public hearing process, the investment has been raised to these 17 billion.

The Generalitat did not look unfavorably upon the proposal, although it submitted allegations because it believed it could be "improved". Among the Generalitat's priorities were a reinforcement of access to the electricity grid for the Tarragona petrochemical industrial estate for new industrial developments; also access for different desalination plants (Tordera and Cubelles), in line with the water transition planned by the Generalitat; a reinforcement of the area near the city of Barcelona, where population growth is putting upward pressure on demand; changes to the electricity grid for the development of the Catalunya Media City project and, finally, a reinforcement of connections to the ports and railway electrification.

More industrial demand

In previous plans, the Spanish government had focused on the integration of renewable energies—such as wind and solar energy—into the electricity grid, so that they could meet the demand for electricity. But the transformation of part of the industry, as well as the proliferation of new activities with high electricity demands, such as data centers, have forced the drafting of a roadmap focusing on demand.

After the public hearing process, individual connection points within an electrical substation will grow to 300 (a 52% increase) and positions for direct consumption in transport to 162. The positions planned for the rail axis and port electrification have also been increased by 75%, to 59. Likewise, transport substations are being reinforced (17%, to 193), as is the length of power lines (to 6,706 kilometers) and existing repowered networks, to 8,164 kilometers.