Portugal eyes electricity link with Morocco after Iberian power outage

Portugal’s Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said the country will study a possible electricity interconnection with Morocco. The proposal, discussed at an upcoming meeting in Lisbon with her Moroccan counterpart Leila Benali, will first undergo a cost‑benefit analysis and could diversify Portugal’s supply beyond its reliance on the Spanish link.

The move follows the large Iberian blackout of April 2025, which highlighted that the peninsula’s grid is only about 3 % connected to the wider European network, far below the EU target of 15 % by 2030. Spain and Portugal have also asked the European Commission for additional funding to accelerate new trans‑Pyrenean cables with France, but a recent tripartite meeting produced no concrete agreement. A technical follow‑up is planned for September, and both countries continue to promote projects such as the Aragon‑Marsillón and Navarra‑Las Landas lines and the BarMar hydrogen pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille.