Industry must seize the gravity of the moment to demand transparency and agility in the execution of the investment already planned for the transmission network. Its energy management cannot be limited to savings but must evolve towards a strategy of technical leadership, demanding stable frameworks that enable its active and secure participation in system stability. This is the only way to turn the threat of another blackout into an opportunity to strengthen its energy and competitive future.
October 10, 2025
The electrical crisis that began with the April 28, 2025 blackout has taken a dramatic turn. What initially appeared to be a complex technical event under analysis has now become, following the recent and unprecedented SOS from Red Eléctrica (REE) to the CNMC, an imminent operational concern. This warning, which openly acknowledges the risk of new blackouts due to persistent voltage control problems, not only validates many of the concerns raised by the industrial sector but also calls for an urgent and thorough reassessment of corporate energy management.
The initial position of Foro Industria y Energía (FIE), issued after the government’s first report, focused on the damage that uncertainty, opacity, and multiple conflicting diagnoses were causing to investment. Today, the picture has become even more complex: regulatory uncertainty has turned into recognized operational instability, forcing the sector to move from caution to action with unavoidable urgency.
The evolution of the crisis
FIE was critical of the lack of a single, clear explanation, lamenting that the “coexistence of multiple reports” fostered mistrust. This criticism has found painful confirmation in REE’s latest warning. We are no longer talking about a past event; the crisis has re-emerged in recent weeks with “sudden voltage variations” that raise fears of a repeat disaster.
The underlying problem, therefore, seems to remain active, with no structural solution in sight. From FIE’s perspective, the system operator is now facing the consequences of a path not taken in time: energy management cannot afford for the correction of technical failures to depend on regulatory changes that have been needed for years. The slowness of decision-making not only hindered investment in the past but now compromises the very security of supply.
Criticism intensifies when observing the current response. The speed with which the CNMC has launched exceptional and temporary measures—with a comment period of only five days—is the clearest evidence of the seriousness of the situation. This “in extremis” action is an implicit acknowledgment that intervention has come too late. The urgency and temporary nature of these measures show that, despite previous reports and warnings, the system has failed to correct the structural flaw in voltage control in the months since the blackout.
However, there is one positive aspect in this new phase: unlike the initial opacity of April 28, REE has issued a public and explicit SOS. This transparency, though forced, at least compels regulators to act and warns all stakeholders that the system is operating at its limit.
Critical implications for industrial energy management
For industry, this alert is an unmistakable sign that its energy management can no longer focus solely on cost optimization. It must now pivot toward a strategy that prioritizes resilience, technical quality, and active participation in system stability.
Resilience as a requirement for survival
The acknowledged instability of the system forces industry to assume that the transmission grid is no longer a fully reliable partner. Investments in self-consumption and storage are no longer just efficiency tools but safeguards to ensure supply. The industrial sector may now feel the need to accelerate plans to develop its own response capacity, in order to weather the voltage fluctuations that the central system cannot mitigate. This move toward operational self-sufficiency emerges as a necessary protective measure in the current complex scenario.
The hidden cost of regulatory noncompliance
The tightening of regulations—particularly in the Voltage Control Service (PO 7.4)—has two immediate effects. First, it increases regulatory and technical risk for any future investment in distributed generation or self-consumption. Industry will face stricter compliance requirements and harsher penalties. Equipment investments will have to exceed minimum standards, and digitalization for real-time monitoring will shift from an optimization choice to an essential technical compliance obligation.
Additionally, operators have already warned that tougher conditions could impact effective supply and raise costs passed on to demand. Industry must prepare for a possible indirect rise in energy prices stemming from the increased operational and technical costs of security measures—a source of uncertainty that FIE had already anticipated.
The opportunity of monetized flexibility
Despite the threats, the crisis accelerates the major opportunity highlighted by FIE: the monetization of flexibility. The concept of monetizing flexibility means that industry—historically a passive player—can begin to generate revenue by making its adjustment capabilities available to the system. When the grid needs to stabilize voltage or frequency (ancillary services), industry can modulate its consumption or deploy its storage or on-demand generation. This rapid and controlled response capacity becomes a valuable asset for which the system operator or aggregators are willing to pay. In this way, industrial investments in storage equipment or demand management systems transform into a new business line, providing a means to offset system overcosts while improving internal resilience.
Proactive industrial participation as the cornerstone of the solution
The crisis has revealed that Spain’s decarbonization challenge lies not only in technology but also in the technical and regulatory integration of all stakeholders. Industry can no longer afford to remain a passive actor. FIE warned that uncertainty “kills industry”; today, instability demands that industry become a stabilizing force.
Industry must seize the gravity of the moment to demand transparency and agility in the execution of the investment already planned for the transmission network. Its energy management cannot be limited to savings but must evolve towards a strategy of technical leadership, demanding stable frameworks that enable its active and secure participation in system stability. This is the only way to turn the threat of another blackout into an opportunity to strengthen its energy and competitive future.