Spain, Portugal and France to meet in Paris on July 6 to boost electricity interconnections

Spain, Portugal and France will gather in Paris on July 6, attended by Spain’s Vice‑President and Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen, Portugal’s counterpart Maria Graça Carvalho, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen and senior officials from national grid operators and regulators. The meeting aims to accelerate electricity interconnections across the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees, including the pending trans‑Pyrenean projects linking Navarra with Lançar or Aragon with Martignat.

Current Spain‑France links carry only about 3 % of Spain’s electricity capacity, well below EU targets of 10 % by 2020 and 15 % by 2033. A newly inaugurated Spain‑Portugal cable between Pontevedra and Viana do Castelo adds roughly 1 GW of capacity, bringing total exchange to 4,200 MW from Spain to Portugal and 3,500 MW in the opposite direction. Operators say the line will reinforce both systems, improve renewable integration by 281 GWh annually and cut CO₂ emissions by about 113,000 tonnes each year.