Spain forces large factories to shut amid unexpected wind power drop

Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica activated its emergency demand‑response system on Wednesday night, ordering large industrial plants to cut electricity consumption from 22:18 until around midnight. The measure was taken to avoid a supply‑demand imbalance after an unexpected decline in wind‑park generation coincided with high temperature‑driven demand.

This is the second activation in a week and the third this year, using 943 MW of the 1,775 MW capacity available under the system, roughly half of the total responsive power. Red Eléctrica emphasized that supply continuity was not compromised and the action is intended to maintain reserve margins. The mechanism, introduced over three years ago, has been employed eight times since its launch.