Spain aims to strengthen its natural gas security of supply
Spain is pursuing tighter safeguards for its natural gas supply as part of a broader European push to reduce reliance on Russian energy and to shield critical community energy systems. The government is preparing emergency and preventive plans and will consider legal reforms to map risks and bolster resilience against potential gas supply shocks. The goal is to minimize disruptions at the point of entry into the country and ensure continuity even under adverse conditions.
The Executive, now in office, has opened the process to public input to harness expertise from the energy sector. By 2026, an Emergency Plan and a Preventive Action Plan will be submitted to the European Commission, alongside updates to Spain’s national winter action plan and the alignment of technical management standards for the gas system. These steps are coordinated efforts by the national government to safeguard the gas network.
All of these measures are interconnected. They determine how supply problems are prevented and how to respond if they arise, with a focus on protecting homes and essential services and ensuring gas supplies for electricity generation. Since the energy crisis and Europe’s response to sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine, preventive measures for energy security have intensified across the European Union.
Simulation of serious faults
The Ministry of Ecological Transition, led by Vice President Teresa Ribera, carried out simulations as part of a preventive strategy to test how the Spanish gas system would respond under stress. The scenarios include total or partial disruptions from major suppliers such as Algeria, Russia, or Norway, as well as situations where high demand and serious infrastructure failures coincide. This includes regasification plants that receive liquefied natural gas by ship, underground storage, and the domestic gas pipeline network, along with interconnected systems in other European countries.
The government’s analysis concludes that the gas system can withstand the tested emergency scenarios without risking a sustained loss of supply to protected customers. However, some outcomes would involve a sharp rise in the price of gas. The ministry notes that none of the identified risks would trigger a generalized gas shortage for protected customers, which include households, small and medium-sized enterprises, and essential services.
In the event of a disruption to imports from both Algeria and Russia, or in cases of problems at major Spanish gas facilities such as regasification plants, the plan considers how the system would function. It specifically addresses the critical route through the national gas pipeline and provisions for the regasification plant at the port of Barcelona. The government highlights that the largest single risk lies with the Mugardos plant. Should problems arise there on a busy winter day, the country would still aim to keep protected customers supplied. To mitigate risks at that regasification facility operated by Reganosa in Ferrol, a potential joint operation with Spain and Portugal could be explored. This cooperation would aim to minimize the impact on large regional industry, potentially requiring reduced gas use in power generation and, if necessary, activating mutual aid agreements with Portugal.
Protected clients
The government is advancing new technical management standards for the electricity system to align competencies among the Executive, the National Markets and Competition Commission, and EU regulations. They are designed to prevent interruptions to the supply of protected customers, including domestic users, SMEs, and essential social services. In emergencies, supply to these customers would be maintained, with the possibility of a solidarity request from another EU country. If a solidarity mechanism is invoked, some SMEs may be removed from the protected list.
Vulnerable customers, especially larger business users, could face interruptions in a crisis if actions are required to protect critical operations. The decision would hinge on the activity’s importance to health, defense, environment, or the integrity of the national and EU value chains, along with potential damage to facilities in the event of closure and broader economic considerations. The aim is a careful balance between maintaining essential services and managing available resources during emergencies, while keeping communities informed and protected.
These developments occur within a broader effort to align energy security with regional and European policy, ensuring that households and essential services in Canada, the United States, and partner markets can rely on resilient energy systems connected to a stable gas supply network. The focus remains on proactive planning, cross-border cooperation, and transparent governance to prevent interruptions and minimize impact on daily life.