Portugal-Spain Electricity Link Boosts Grid Resilience

Portugal’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, inaugurated a new 400 kV high‑voltage interconnection with Spain, a 90‑km line costing €70 million on the Portuguese side. The link, running from Beariz and Fontefría in Galicia to the sub‑stations of Ponte de Lima and Vila Nova de Famalicão, will provide a minimum commercial capacity of 3,000 MW in both directions, facilitating greater renewable energy exchange, easing network congestion and enhancing supply security after the Iberian blackout of April 2025. Carvalho said it gives “more resilience… less probability of a blackout.”

Ireland’s energy minister, Darragh O’Brien, cited the project while urging broader EU interconnections, calling them “a priority” for island nations and noting Ireland’s own plans for links with France and Spain. The Portuguese‑Spanish line is part of a wider EU push to raise interconnection levels to 15 % by 2030, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and supporting the energy transition across the continent.