Portugal Continues Easing Limits on Power Imports From Spain
(Bloomberg) -- Portugal will continue to ease limits on the electricity interconnection capacity for imports from Spain after trading between the two countries was halted last month due to a blackout.
- The cap on import capacity from Spain will increase to 2,000 megawatts between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and to 2,500 megawatts between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on May 26-June 2, according to the website of Portuguese energy grid operator REN-Redes Energeticas Nacionais SA.
- There will be no limits at other times.
- REN had previously eased the import limit to 1,500 megawatts between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. for the May 19-26 period as part of an ongoing “stabilization process” following the blackout.
The April 28 blackout left Portugal and Spain without electricity for hours, hitting public transport, telecommunications systems and other services. Portuguese Energy and Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said on May 2 that as a precaution Portugal was at that time not trading electricity with Spain and was being supplied entirely with power produced within the country.
EDP SA, a Portuguese utility that also operates power plants in Spain, has said that it doesn’t expect a material impact despite some higher-than-normal market splitting in the Iberian Peninsula during about two days after the blackout. Electricity prices were higher in Portugal than in Spain.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
