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“The saturation of the electricity grid in Euskadi poses a serious risk of losing industrial investments”, José Ignacio Hormaeche, General Director of BASQUENERGY Cluster
October 17, 2025
The publication of the interactive capacity map by electrical substations in Spain, developed by Foro Industria y Energía (FIE) in collaboration with Opina 360, continues to generate reactions among key players in the energy and industrial ecosystem.
In this new installment, we return to the Basque Country -the most saturated region in Spain, with 99.2% of its grid at capacity-to hear from a new voice: the Basque Energy Cluster (BASQUENERGY Cluster). Its General Director, José Ignacio Hormaeche, provides an accurate diagnosis and a clear roadmap for turning this challenge into an industrial opportunity.
BASQUENERGY Cluster defines itself as the association that brings together companies from the Basque energy industry: it currently integrates 216 companies and organizations covering the full value chain (equipment manufacturers, digital firms, engineering companies, operators, technology centers, universities, and public administrations). More than 60 companies are directly linked to the electricity grid value chain, making the Basque Country one of Europe’s largest industrial and technological concentrations focused on smart grids.
Electricity grids under growing industrial demand
The energy transition requires boosting both renewable generation and the electrification of consumption in buildings, industry, and transport. However, according to BASQUENERGY Cluster, investments in strengthening and digitalizing electricity grids in Spain are not keeping pace.
“Grid operators need an appropriate regulatory framework and certainty in regulation and remuneration for these investments in order to carry them out,” explains Hormaeche.
“In the Basque Country, over the last three years, there has been a significant increase in requests for new or expanded contracted power, mainly from industrial clients. These requests cannot be met by transmission and distribution operators due to grid saturation,” notes Hormaeche.
Most of these requests come from electro-intensive companies with growth plans and, increasingly, from decarbonization initiatives seeking to replace fossil fuels with electricity and green hydrogen. The figures are striking: between 2021 and 2024, connection requests exceeded 4.5 GW of capacity, compared to the 3.3 GW currently in service.
The immediate risk: when industry plugs in elsewhere
Hormaeche stresses that grid saturation has direct and urgent consequences:
“The saturation of the electricity grid in Euskadi poses a serious risk of losing industrial investments, as companies already established lack the power capacity needed for growth and for their electrification plans.”
The problem has two dimensions. On the one hand, existing industrial companies are seeing their growth and decarbonization strategies blocked. On the other hand, projects to establish new manufacturing centers may choose other regions if grid access cannot be guaranteed in the short to medium term. Competition among regions for industrial investment is fierce, and grid connection availability has become a decisive factor.
Hormaeche is clear about the available capacity in the region:
“The 7 MW available at some nodes in Gipuzkoa are clearly insufficient, both for the current and future demand levels and due to their limited location. In a region like Euskadi, with industrial activity across all territories, grid connections are needed in several areas with high concentrations of industrial companies, such as the Zamudio Technology Park (Bizkaia), the Port of Bilbao, or northern Vitoria-Gasteiz.”
Three regulatory keys for the 2026-2030 period
BASQUENERGY Cluster has participated in the main public consultations by MITERD and CNMC on remuneration and planning for electricity grids. In its assessment, “the current regulatory framework does not adequately incentivize distribution grid operators to make the necessary investments for grid reinforcement and expansion.”
The organization identifies three key aspects that must be addressed for the upcoming 2026-2031 period:
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Raise the maximum investment limit.
“It is necessary to raise the current cap on total grid investment (distribution and/or transmission) as a percentage of GDP to a level sufficient to meet projected grid needs.”
In this regard, BASQUENERGY Cluster welcomes the recent MITERD proposal raising the maximum annual distribution grid investment limit to €1.54 billion for 2026–2030. -
A fair Financial Return Rate (FRR).
The FRR should provide “a fair return aligned with comparable market rates for investments made by distribution companies.” -
A remuneration methodology that rewards necessary investment.
This is, for the Cluster, the most critical point. “To enable the required investments, the remuneration calculation method must adequately compensate the investments needed to reinforce and expand electricity distribution grids -both in volume and in asset typology.”
Turning grid saturation into a driver of industrial innovation
Hormaeche goes beyond diagnosis. As an association representing companies across the electricity grid value chain, BASQUENERGY Cluster argues that the necessary investments offer “great opportunities to create economic activity and quality employment in Spain through companies supplying the required products, services, and technologies.”
Spain -and particularly the Basque Country- has a strong industrial value chain for smart grids, with innovative companies that are well positioned internationally. Participation in these investments should allow them to develop new technologies and leverage demonstration effects to strengthen their global market position.
Therefore, BASQUENERGY Cluster believes that “the remuneration methodology for electricity distribution should also consider the role and relevance of the smart grid value chain.” A clear planning framework is needed so that domestic industry can size its capabilities to meet rising demand levels.
Hormaeche also proposes valuing non-economic contributions made by companies in key areas such as cybersecurity, resilience, sustainability, and innovation.
The goal is to “promote technologies that are not only price-competitive but also have a positive industrial and social impact -leveraging the strength and capabilities of Spain’s and especially the Basque Country’s electrical equipment manufacturers and digital solution developers, thereby reducing dependence on external suppliers and technologies in an increasingly volatile geopolitical context.”