Spain's regional power grids face saturation, hindering industry expansion

In Asturias, 37.3% of the region’s 199 substations are saturated, reducing free transmission capacity by 17% from almost 795 MW to under 659 MW. The number of overloaded substations rose from 52 to 75 between October 2023 and March 2026, a 44% increase, and 136 MW of available capacity vanished in six months. Major users such as Asturiana de Zinc have been denied modest connection requests – a 3 MW extension was rejected because the local substation could not accept more load – threatening plans to expand and decarbonise operations.

Nationally, Red Eléctrica de España reports an overall grid saturation of 86.3%, leaving only about 7,400 MW of spare capacity across Spain. The CNMC has warned that slow planning and permitting are widening the gap between rising demand for electrification, storage, and green‑hydrogen projects and the physical ability of the grid to deliver power.

In Extremadura, the regional government, led by Economy Minister Guillermo Santamaría, urged Red Eléctrica to address network needs to avoid “strangling” industrial development. The Junta has lodged formal objections to the current grid planning, citing a planned multi‑million‑euro investment by Merlin Properties in two data‑center facilities that depends on reliable electricity access.