Government anti-apagon pack costs 400 million euros. Do you have 31 measures – and deadline?

Package foresees 137 million to reinforce the power grid and duplicate the centrals with black startamong many other measures. Connection with Morocco is being studied.

The National Electric System Safety reinforcement plan, following the April 28, will rise to 400 million euros and predicts 31 measuresthe environment minister announced this Monday-but “not all will go to the fare, some are from European funds,” Maria da Graça Carvalho said, the day she marked three months of the blackout.

The ruler assured that these 31 measures, some already implemented, will have a residual impact in terms of tariffs, estimating that for every 25 euros of electricity invoice, there is a increase of a centie 0.04%.

Among the measures, there are three:

• an investment of 137 million euros to reinforce the operating capacity and control of the power gridwhich were already foreseen by REN – National Energy Networks and approved by the Energy Services Regulatory Entity (ERSE), by approving an autonomous authorization so that it can be executed “as soon as possible”;
• the launch of a Auction for storage batteriesby 2026, which should mobilize investments of up to 200 million euros;
• support in the value of 25 million euros to improve the response capacity of critical infrastructurelike hospitals, endowing them, for example, with photovoltaic panels and batteries.

“Of course we could increase the measures we are doing here, but we would pay more, it’s always a balance we do, […] We think these are the sufficient measures to increase the operational safety of the network without significant impact on the Portuguese tariffs, ”said the minister.

Another of the measures to be presented consists of changing the control systems of the power grid, with greater computerization and use of data, and there is “one Single Data Collection System”.

One of the measures goes through duplication of centers with Black Start – going from two to four – with contracts already signed with the Low flavor and also.

The one from Spain was disapproved. What changes in the Portuguese package

The approach of Lisbon and Madrid in relation to the blackout was different. Portugal, who was not at the origin of the electric “disaster”, reacted less urgently now, while the Spanish government, hastily, saw its proposal failed to parliament.

But this Portuguese “package” – which can be executed almost in full without the need for parliamentary approval, except for the cybersecurity component, warned the minister – seems to have been presented practically calendar or cost estimates, unlike the Spanish government plan containing specific calendars.

The PSOE Government provided for the obligation of regular reports by CNMC (Spanish regulator), penalties to producers who do not comply with tension control duties, and the expertise of licenses for power storage projects and a more frequent review of power planning, from cycles from six to three years, recalls.

Connection to Morocco to be studied

The government will even evaluate the possibility of one, having been contacts between the two foreign ministers, the Minister of Environment and Energy said.

“We will evaluate the possibility of a connection to Morocco, There have been contactsthe Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco with our Foreign Minister, ”said Maria da Graça Carvalho, at a press conference at Ministry in Lisbon.

According to the ruler, “There is interest from the Morocco part in the connection to Europe”which already has it with Spain and is under study with Germany.

“We can see the possibility of linking one of the existing projects, a new root will be very expensive, for sure, but we will evaluate the viability of also entering one of these projects,” explained the minister.

Maria da Graça Carvalho stressed that a “very preliminary” contact was made, which now follows the first ministry meeting between representatives of both countries.

The Economic Journal advanced in May that the studied connection predicted 220 kilometers long between Tavira and B. Harchan, capable of transporting 1,000 megawatts.

The total cost would be 650 million euros to divide by two countries, up to 325 million pars Portugal, according to a study released in 2022 by Med-TSO-the association that brings together the operators of the Mediterranean electricity transport networks.

At the end of June, the Minister of Environment and Energy said that she would present a set of measures compared to the April blackout, although the final report was not yet known with the causes of the event.

Maria da Graça Carvalho indicated, at the time, that the government intends to see the capacity to stor electricity, and are therefore working in a “National Storage Plan”, Which, he said, can understand both chemical storage through batteries and water through the ability of the dams.

Earlier this week, the July 15 meeting of the European Electricity Transport Operators Experts Group (Entso-E), which investigates the collapse of the occurred network, which pointed to as a most likely cause a increased waterfall voltage – Observed in southern Spain in the final phase of the incident – followed by sudden dismissals of production, especially in renewable facilities, and led to the electrical separation of the Iberian peninsula from the continental system, with loss of synchronism and collapse of frequency and tension.

This type of disturbance had never been identified as a cause of blackout at any point in the European network.

During the incident, automatic response plans were activated in Portugal and Spain, as provided for in European regulations, but failed to avoid collapse of the network.

Although the legal deadline for producing the factual report on the incident is October 28, 2025, six months after the incident, the expert panel intends to deliver it first.

This will be followed by a final report, with recommendations to the European Commission and the Member States, which should be delivered two to three months later.