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Electricity grid collapse in Region of Murcia sparks urgent funding call
Regional government warns lack of investment is crippling growth and jobs
Murcia’s regional government has sounded the alarm over what it describes as a critical collapse of the electricity grid, warning that the lack of investment from Madrid is directly holding back business and industry.At a press conference on Thursday September 11, government spokesperson Marcos Ortuño said: “The electricity grid has collapsed. The distributors themselves have confirmed what we have been denouncing for years: the lack of investment in electricity infrastructure is strangling the economic and business development of the Region.”
A new report from Spain’s main electricity distributors shows that 83.4 percent of the country’s grid is already overloaded. In Murcia the situation is almost the same, with 136 of the 165 existing energy nodes saturated. This means 82.4 percent of the regional distribution network is unable to take on new customers.
According to Ortuño, this lack of infrastructure is limiting the rollout of renewable energy, particularly solar, and stopping new companies from investing in the Region. He also accused the national government of ignoring Murcia’s needs, pointing to last July when the Region was excluded from a €750 million investment plan covering 65 projects to strengthen Spain’s electricity transmission network. “While other regions do receive strategic investments, the Region of Murcia will not receive a single euro,” he said.
The impact on local industry is already clear. Murcia currently has 68 industrial projects under development, worth nearly €1 billion and representing 900 megawatts of new capacity. However, five have already been rejected due to lack of grid space, 24 are suffering delays, and 19 have been put on hold as they await new capacity maps. Only 20 projects currently have conditions for access.
Ortuño said the Region was being left behind and stressed the urgency for change. He called on the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge to address Murcia’s proposals, convene the meeting that was promised back in February, and agree on an updated investment plan. He also urged the government to relax or remove the legal ceiling on investment for transmission and distribution improvements.
The regional government has warned that Murcia’s forthcoming Industrial Plan, which aims to create up to 17,000 new jobs and attract €4.6 billion in investment, is at risk unless the electricity grid is modernised. “Urgent government investment is needed so that our growth and job creation are not hindered,” Ortuño said.
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