• 83.4% of the nodes in Spain’s electricity distribution grid are saturated, according to data published by the employers’ association AELEC.

  • For the first time, Spain has official maps showing the actual capacity of the grid to connect new electricity demand, not just generation.

  • The saturation of the grid is not uniform: it varies considerably between regions, provinces, and even municipalities.

  • The big question redefining the industrial geography is no longer just what type of energy is consumed, but fundamentally: “where is the plug?”

  • Electro-industrial Spain is stuck in uncertainty, dragging down its competitiveness.

September 12, 2025

Spain wakes up to an unprecedented electricity map. On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, the main distributors (Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP) lifted the curtain and published the long-awaited distribution map, a cartography intended to show the actual capacity left in the low-voltage grid to connect new consumption. What many feared has now been confirmed and quantified: 83.4% of distribution grid nodes are saturated, according to AELEC. There is hardly any room left for new connections, a blockade that has set off alarm bells across national industry.

More than a thousand companies with pending projects—from factories in the process of electrification to data centers that devour energy 24/7—were waiting for these maps to know if they could connect their new facilities, and today the answer seems to be an almost resounding “no.” In this historic bottleneck, the big question redefining industrial competitiveness is no longer just about the type of energy, but about the mere existence of a point to plug into.

The cartography of demand: the other side of the coin

For the first time, Spain has a map focused not on generation but on electricity demand: the real capacity of the grid to connect new consumption. Until now we knew how many megawatts we could produce and inject into the system, but the other side of the coin remained in the shadows: how many we could actually consume.

The publication of these maps reveals the real bottleneck: it is not enough to have energy available if there is no grid to deliver it to the end user. Beyond the 83.4% of saturated nodes, what matters is the exercise in transparency that this data represents: for the first time, companies and investors can know precisely where access options exist and where they do not, opening up a new way to plan industrial deployment in Spain.

New industrial geography: the race for the plug

The green era has changed not only the what of energy but also the where of industry. Historically, the decision to locate a factory or production center responded to a classic equation: proximity to raw materials, quality of transport infrastructure, availability of skilled talent, and fiscal incentives, among others. However, a new variable has climbed to the top of that formula: physical access to energy. In other words, the question “where is the plug?”

Industrial geography is being redrawn by the availability of energy. The data reveal a fragmented Spain, where firm capacity and saturation levels vary from region to region, province to province, and even municipality to municipality. For example, according to data provided by I-DE (Iberdrola Group), provinces like Burgos are 100% saturated, while Alicante still has 331.21 MW of firm capacity. This territorial heterogeneity turns business location into an exercise in surgical precision, where just a few kilometers can mark the difference between the viability or infeasibility of a project.

Grid saturation imposes a geographical and technical filter that is redefining the country’s industrial map. Areas close to underutilized grid nodes will become real treasures for investment, while saturated areas push companies off the map, favoring relocation and a forced redistribution of jobs and national competitiveness.

At the FIE we asked ourselves some time ago: “Where will industry take root in the green era?” The answer, both then and now, is clear: wherever it finds a plug.

The unbearable weight of uncertainty

In the age of data and electrification, industry needs certainty, not bets. From the Foro Industria y Energía we have repeated it tirelessly: uncertainty kills industry. And this time it operates on multiple levels. On the temporal level: when will grid capacity be freed up? On the spatial level: where are viable alternatives to be found? On the economic level: what extra costs will the search for solutions entail? And on the strategic level: is it worth betting on Spain, or should companies look to other markets with more prepared infrastructure?

Industry needs certainties in order to invest, and grid saturation introduces the greatest uncertainty possible: the doubt over whether the project will even be technically viable. We are not talking about profitability, competitiveness, or regulatory frameworks (variables that, although complex, can be modeled). We are talking about the basic impossibility of plugging the project into the grid.

Spanish industry hangs by a… copper thread

Grid saturation is not an accident or just an administrative bottleneck: it is the symptom of an incomplete industrial transition. The electrification of production, the digitalization of processes, and the boom in data centers are multiplying demand for connections. Without a systemic vision and strategic investment in distribution, Spain’s industrial take-off will be cut short.

Electro-industrial Spain is stuck in uncertainty, dragging down its competitiveness. Now, what truly makes the difference is no longer raw materials or fiscal incentives, but available megawatts and free grid nodes. The ecological and digital transition of our economy hangs by a thread. And that thread, today more than ever, is a copper cable: where there is no plug, there is no future. Spanish industry is eager to deploy its potential: it has projects, ambition, and talent, and only needs a clear answer to a simple question: where can it plug in?