• Uncertainty has already led some large companies to withdraw from PERTE programmes despite significant progress in electrification processes—especially in sectors where electrification is highly complex.

  • “Uncertainty kills industry,” warned Albert Concepción, director of Foro Industria y Energía, during the conference “Claves para la seguridad de suministro en Cataluña: redes eléctricas y energía nuclear”, organised by Foment del Treball.

  • Albert Concepción explained that many of the current problems in Catalunya’s electrical grid stem from “generacentrism”: a historical tendency to focus solely on energy generation without considering where and how energy is actually consumed.

  • The substation capacity map presented by the FIE shows that much of the infrastructure still follows 20th-century layouts, and that 21st-century grid planning must align energy supply with modern industrial demand.

14 November 2025

Last Monday, Foment del Treball hosted the conference “Claves para la seguridad de suministro en Cataluña: redes eléctricas y energía nuclear”, a forum that brought together industrial leaders and institutional representatives to discuss Catalunya’s energy future. During the event, Foro Industria y Energía presented its new map of electrical substations in Catalunya, developed with Opina 360, identifying the main bottlenecks and connection challenges affecting renewable deployment and industrial activity.

The debate included contributions from Marta Morera, Director-General for Energy of the Generalitat de Catalunya, as well as industrial experts such as Pere Sabaté (BASF), Ernest Valls (ACOGEN) and Oriol Xalabarder (ASEME). From FIE, director Albert Concepción guided attendees through the data, highlighting areas where grid availability and substation distribution do not match current industrial demand.

Beyond the numbers, Concepción underscored a concept he believes explains several of today’s challenges: “generacentrism”, the focus on generation while ignoring real industrial and consumer demand. “Until now we have focused too much on supply and not on demand,” he noted. Marta Morera echoed the point: “No one thought about demand because all efforts were on generation.” This generation-centric view has meant that many industrial investments do not have guaranteed electrical supply, complicating planning and limiting productive expansion.

Another critical issue highlighted by FIE is that many substations and access points are not “where they should be”. Catalunya’s grid still reflects 20th-century industrial geography, with some substations built next to factories that no longer exist—such as Damm or España Industrial. Although data may suggest that Barcelona, with a saturation level of 67.6%, has abundant grid access, nearly half of those access points are located in the city centre, where industrial facilities do not exist and cannot exist in the future. This mismatch between available connection points and actual industrial demand—concentrated in business parks and peripheral industrial areas—requires strategic planning aligned with 21st-century needs, incorporating modern industrial location criteria and strengthening grid flexibility and distribution.

Uncertainty: the industry’s worst enemy

The FIE also emphasised the constant uncertainty weighing on industry—an issue it frequently addresses. “Uncertainty kills industry,” Concepción warned. Lack of clarity on regulation, remuneration and grid access creates risks many companies cannot assume. This uncertainty has already led some large firms to withdraw from PERTE programmes despite major advances in complex electrification processes, and others have faced heavy delays in decarbonisation. Pere Sabaté of BASF illustrated this with a concrete example: some industrial investments were approved internally without confirmed grid availability, exposing companies to significant financial risk. Oriol Xalabarder, president of ASEME, noted that the energy transition increases the complexity of grid management, and that regulatory uncertainty limits companies’ ability to invest. Ernest Valls of ACOGEN stressed that safeguarding cogeneration and moving forward with pending auctions is essential to reduce uncertainty and ensure industry operates with reliable, efficient energy.

Director-General Marta Morera underscored the importance of coordination among all actors involved—one of the founding goals of Foro Industria y Energía, created with the ambition of bringing together every link in the industrial energy-management value chain.

The event made clear that supply security challenges are not limited to infrastructure or generation. They depend on an integrated vision that combines strategic planning, attention to real demand and reduced regulatory uncertainty. Only with these elements aligned will Catalunya’s industry have reliable, efficient energy capable of sustaining investment, innovation and long-term competitiveness.