European Blackouts: A Wake-Up Call for Grid Resilience?
The recent blackout across southern Europe is one of those stories that’s been climbing the news agenda—and with good reason.
A few weeks ago, someone told me they were stocking their bunker with tins of beans and Pot Noodles.
“Just in case,” they said.
I asked, “Just in case of what?”
They replied, “Everything’s digital now—and we’re practically cashless. It wouldn’t take much to grind the whole system to a halt.”
It sounded dramatic—until I thought about the blackout on 28 April 2025.
That day, a massive power outage swept across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, plunging millions into darkness and paralysing vital infrastructure. This wasn’t a minor glitch—it was a total grid failure.
What’s a grid failure?
The electricity grid is the vast network of power plants, transmission lines, substations, and distribution systems that deliver electricity from where it’s generated to homes and businesses.
A grid failure means this network stops working properly, causing widespread blackouts.
Power was eventually restored, but the incident exposed serious vulnerabilities in Europe’s energy networks.
For the UK, this isn’t just a distant event. It’s a warning we’d be wise to heed.
What Happened in Southern Europe?
The blackout was triggered by the sudden loss of 2,200 megawatts of electricity in southern Spain—equivalent to two large power stations shutting down instantly. This caused frequency and voltage imbalances in the grid.
What are frequency and voltage?
Frequency (measured in Hertz, Hz) is how often the electrical current alternates per second. It needs to stay very stable—usually 50 Hz in Europe.
Voltage is the electrical pressure pushing current through wires. It must also stay within tight limits to keep equipment safe.
When these get out of balance, electrical equipment can be damaged or malfunction.
To prevent this, automatic load shedding kicked in.
What’s automatic load shedding?
This is when parts of the grid are deliberately switched off to reduce demand and protect the entire system from collapsing.
At the same time, France cut electricity exports to Spain, severing one of the few routes for importing power.
Within minutes, large parts of the Iberian grid (Spain and Portugal) collapsed.
Why Was the System So Vulnerable?
Limited interconnection
Spain and Portugal’s grid connects to the wider European network at only about 3% capacity, far below the EU’s 15% target.
What’s interconnection?
Interconnection means physical connections (such as power cables) that allow countries to import or export electricity. More interconnection provides backup options if local supply fails.
Aging infrastructure
Many transmission lines and substations (facilities that step up or step down voltage) are decades old and struggle with today’s complex energy flows.
High renewable dependency
Spain and Portugal rely heavily on wind and solar power.
Why does that matter?
Renewables like wind and solar don’t produce steady power—they depend on weather, so output can change quickly. Managing this variability requires smart grids and energy storage to keep supply and demand balanced.
What’s a smart grid?
A smart grid uses digital technology to monitor and manage electricity flows in real time, improving reliability and efficiency.
What’s energy storage?
Energy storage (like batteries) saves electricity when there’s surplus and releases it when there’s shortage, helping balance the grid.
Without enough flexibility, the system becomes fragile.
Why This Should Concern the UK
Even though we’re an island, our energy system is interconnected and vulnerable.
This blackout showed challenges every modern grid faces—including ours.
Key questions:
Is our grid strong enough?
The UK’s grid is transforming as we move away from fossil fuels, but this adds pressures:
More electric vehicles requiring rapid charging points (high power demand spots)
Growing digital infrastructure like data centres needing 24/7 power
Urban development demanding local grid upgrades
Some areas already face grid congestion—where the network can’t accept more renewable connections because of physical limits.
What’s grid congestion?
It’s when parts of the electricity network are overloaded and can’t support additional power flows..
Balancing costs—the expenses of matching supply and demand in real time—are rising, and local outages are becoming more common.
What if our interconnectors fail?
The UK imports significant power via undersea cables called interconnectors linking us to France, the Netherlands, and Norway.
These help:
Meet winter demand spikes
Manage price fluctuations
Balance intermittent renewable generation
But interconnectors can fail due to technical faults, damage, or geopolitical issues. As Iberia’s blackout showed, countries may prioritise their own needs in a crisis.
Are we investing in resilience fast enough?
We’re pushing decarbonisation hard—but infrastructure upgrades lag.
Smart grid technology is still unevenly deployed.
Battery storage isn’t widespread enough to protect the system at scale.
Local flexibility markets—where consumers and businesses shift electricity use to help balance supply—are still developing.
darkness and paralysing vital infrastructure. This wasn’t just a minor glitch—it was a total grid failure.
What’s a flexibility market?
It’s a system where users adjust their power consumption in response to grid needs, helping avoid overload and reduce costs.
Without these tools, the risk of cascading failures grows.
What Can UK Organisations Do?
You can’t control the national grid—but you can prepare your organisation.
Run an Energy Resilience Check
Audit your operations:
How long could you run during a blackout?
Which systems are most vulnerable?
Can you reduce reliance on the grid without harming performance?
Invest in Flexibility and Backup
Consider:
Battery storage and on-site renewables like solar panels to reduce peak demand and build independence
Backup generators or uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to protect critical equipment
What’s a UPS?
A UPS is a battery system that provides immediate backup power to essential devices during outages.
Voltage optimisation and smart demand management to reduce costs and ease grid stress
Maximise Heat Efficiency Without a Full Overhaul
Many estates still use gas or oil heating, and the efficiency of this can be improved by a fantastic low cost product
BoostaBoiler by Magnatech is a non-invasive retrofit that optimises boiler cycling and heat retention with minimal disruption.
Benefits include:
Lower gas and oil use and bills
Reduced carbon emissions
Extended boiler life
Better performance with less manual control
Final Thoughts
The Iberian blackout was a warning—a glimpse into what can happen when aging, interconnected, and overstretched systems fail.
As our energy infrastructure becomes more complex, UK organisations must ask:
“Are we resilient enough when the lights go out?”
Without a plan, consequences could be severe: lost revenue and data, safety risks, reputational damage, and operational chaos.
So — Test It Now
You don’t have to wait for a crisis:
Simulate a power outage—what fails? What keeps running?
Walk through your response—can your teams communicate and maintain safety?
Identify dependencies and gaps—on grid power, servers, suppliers—and fix fundamentals like battery backup, heating efficiency, power quality, and resilience plans.
Reduce your consumption and save money!
Until next week, just remember this:
“Success is a system, not a secret. Build it, own it—and never wait for permission to improve it.” www.vitalisenergy.uk
Ready to Start?
• Download your free energy audit tool
• Register for the May webinar
• Or just email: chris@vitalisenergy.uk
