Why are food systems linked?
Spain and Portugal have closely related food systems of cross -border links with France and the rest of the EU.
The European Commission, the EU executive, had long wanted to change this fact, strongly encouraging EU countries to build more interconnections. Managers argue that the decision would improve energy security and facilitate electricity flows beyond borders. Madrid, Lisbon and Paris have repeatedly pointed out a desire to move forward with this plan, but the progress has been slow.
Although Spain and France are finally forward with a new link in the Basque Country, the EU energy regulator association warned last year that the electricity transmission capacity was not released, despite the legal requirements to do so.
It is not clear if more links with Europe would have improved the power failure.
On the one hand, more cross -border links could have strengthened the capacity of Spain to balance supply and demand and to import electricity, said Pratheeksha Ramdas, main electricity analyst at Rystad Consultancy. The current limited trading capacity of Madrid with France “limits rapid response capacities during large-scale disturbances,” she said.
Conversely, “increased connectivity could risk propagating frequency instability in neighboring systems,” she added, creating a domino effect of cascade failures in other EU countries.
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