The April 28 blackout that changed everything
April 28, 2025, will be etched in the energy memory of Spain and Portugal. A massive blackout left millions of people without electricity for hours, exposing a reality the sector had been warning about for years: Spain’s power grid needs urgent and structural investment to support the ongoing energy transition.
That historic outage not only generated millions in economic losses and unprecedented logistical chaos. It also forcefully reopened the debate about the profitability of power grid investments and the responsibility of major operators to ensure robust and resilient infrastructure. It is in this context that Enel’s announcement takes on its full significance.
The Italian energy giant has presented a 2026-2028 strategic plan that places grid modernization at the center of its global roadmap, with Spain as one of its most strategic markets.
A $63 billion plan with Spain at the epicenter
Enel has announced a $63 billion investment plan for the 2026-2028 period, of which approximately €26 billion will be allocated exclusively to strengthening and expanding power grids across all its markets. A figure that reflects the magnitude of the challenge facing the global energy industry amid the massive electrification of the economy.
Of that grid budget, Spain receives 21%: approximately €5.5 billion that Enel will channel through its Spanish subsidiary, Endesa. This allocation makes the Spanish market one of the group’s most important investment focuses internationally, comparable in strategic relevance only to Italy and Latin America.
The battle over regulated returns
However, the path is not without tensions. Spain’s competition regulator recently set the financial rate of return for power grid activities at 6.58% for the coming years, justifying it as a balance between investment needs and consumer protection against tariff increases.
The problem is that power companies operating in Spain, including Endesa, are demanding returns above 7% for grid investments to be viable and attractive. The gap between what the regulator offers and what the sector demands is small in percentage terms, but enormous in terms of billions of euros over an investment cycle.
Endesa leads the transformation of Spain’s grid
Beyond the regulatory debate, what Enel’s plan confirms is that Endesa will be the main vehicle for a profound transformation of Spain’s power infrastructure. The committed €5.5 billion will be directed toward digitalizing, strengthening, and expanding a grid that must prepare to absorb growing renewable generation and the electrification of transport and industry.
Spain faces a paradox shared by many European countries: the speed of renewable installation has outpaced the grid’s capacity to integrate them efficiently. Without massive investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, the energy transition loses effectiveness and increases the risk of new instability episodes like last April’s.
Enel’s announcement therefore comes at just the right time. And although regulatory details remain to be resolved, the signal is clear: private capital is willing to bet on Spain’s power grid. Now it’s up to the regulator to create the conditions for that bet to materialize at the speed the country needs.
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