🚨🇵🇹Portugal is slashing power imports from🇪🇸Spain to boost its energy security after the massive blackout occurred a couple of weeks ago ⚡️As a consequence of this decision, power prices spiked in the country and limited the competitivity of the🇪🇺EU country's economy 🧵
As a measure of "precaution" and ahead of crucial elections, the Portuguese government decided to reduce electricity imports from Spain to zero in the aftermath of the largest blackout occurred in Europe over the last two decades. Interdependency is, again, at the crux of this
story as Lisbon's electricity grid is deeply interconnected with Madrid's one, where the major problems occurred in late April and from which it originated the blackout darkening the entire Iberian peninsula. However, as a consequence of the import cuts, electricity prices in
Portugal decoupled from the ones in Spain, from which the country constantly imported surplus power generated, mostly, thanks to renewables. Higher electricity prices reached almost five times the ones in Spain on Tuesday and, during today's afternoon, the Iberian market operator
OMIE estimated power prices at almost 30€/MWh in Portugal, while in the same hours they will touch 0€/MWh on the Spanish market. Interdependency is a great thing for countries deciding to invest in interconnectors, but it could also cause serious economic and political
backlashes when mismanaged. To review recent developments of the geopolitics of Europe's energy transition ➡️The English Crown Winks to More Capacity for Offshore Wind 🫴https://rebrand.ly/RE2273 ➡️The (Geo)political Dimensions of the Iberian Blackout 🫴https://rebrand.ly/RE2219