The government is pursuing legal reform to bolster grid security and reduce the risk of outages by updating electrical networks. Plans include retroactive expansion of new safety standards and mandating enhanced protections at existing facilities. The legislative move aims to compel major upgrades across distribution networks by requiring additional equipment and safeguards to prevent failures.
The Ministry of Industry is currently crafting a royal decree under the leadership of the incumbent minister, Héctor Gómez. The initiative intends to amend several technical directives to incorporate fresh safety requirements, targeting upgrades for the hundreds of thousands of transformers already in service across Spain. Most of these transformers are part of distribution networks operated by Endesa, Iberdrola, and Naturgy.
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The new regulation, presented during the initial hearing, is moving through second-stage consultations with the energy and industry sectors and relevant administrations. It will require the installation of additional safeguards to prevent the risk of overloading in roughly 270,000 transformers. Companies will have between three and six years to implement the changes, depending on transformer type and site conditions.
Over 60 million investments
The reform plan mandates a comprehensive grid-security program that will push electricity providers to invest an estimated total of 63.5 million euros in the foreseeable future, as outlined in the ministry’s official economic impact documents. These figures reflect the government’s expectation that stronger protections will reduce outage risks across the network.
According to government calculations, Iberdrola faces an investment of about 35.6 million euros via its distribution subsidiary I-DE; Endesa, through its network arm E-Distribución, is projected to invest 18.4 million euros to serve a large customer base; Naturgy would allocate roughly 7.7 million euros with Unión Fenosa Distribución; and PDET would commit around 3.2 million euros through its distribution entities.
The administration justifies the retroactive application of the safety measures by noting that current rules permit utilities to defer installing equipment against overloads if the risk of overvoltage is deemed non-urgent. Yet, in many cases where it was anticipated that a specific transformer would not experience overloads, the actual operating conditions have since changed, prompting a need for retroactive upgrades. Industry officials emphasize that modern grid realities demand proactive reinforcement rather than wait-and-see approaches.