Lessons from the Iberian Blackout: A Texas Wake-up Call

(AKA – Why Europe’s oops moment should have Texas on high alert)

*This is a 4-minute read. Grab a coffee—and maybe a flashlight, just in case.*

Three days ago (on April 28, 2025), the electrical grid supplying Spain and Portugal failed, plunging millions into “darkness” (even though it happened in the daytime) and turning an ordinary day into chaos. Trains halted, cell phones became bricks, and even essential services simply stopped working. It wasn’t a great day for Europe’s usually very stable electrical grid operation. But it’s worth taking note here in context of the challenges facing the Texas grid…

So What Exactly Happened?

Officials are still trying to piece together what happened but we do know a few details at this point :

  • Instant Power Vanishing Act: Spain lost a whopping 15 gigawatts of generation capacity in five seconds.  (Source: Reuters)

  • Frequency Collapse: In an electrical grid, the system frequency, typically 50 Hz in Europe (60 Hz in the U.S.), reflects a balance between supply and demand.

    • When generation (supply) suddenly disappears (as seems to have happened here), power line frequency drops sharply 

    • If this frequency drop is large and fast enough — and if backup systems, such as spinning reserves or batteries, cannot react quickly or with sufficient capacity — the line frequency can collapse to unstable levels. This absolutely happened in this case. 

  • Automatic grid protection systems detected the rapid frequency fall and immediately isolated the Iberian Peninsula from the wider European grid. (Disconnecting was a last-resort emergency move, basically like slamming a door to avoid pulling the entire European network down with it.) At the same time, local operators then had to rebalance the Iberian grid internally because they could no longer lean on neighbors for stability. This “rebalancing” essentially means they manually disconnected most of the power distribution main lines and transformers in local regions for several hours. 

  • Renewables: A Blessing and Curse ?: Early reports point to a significant drop-off in solar energy production as the culprit, highlighting how tricky renewable energy integration can be without the right grid support – balancing techniques, backup storage, and transmission/distribution systems. (Source: Reuters)
  • Cyberattack? Nope: Authorities quickly ruled out any malicious cyber involvement, zeroing in on good ol’ fashioned operational mishaps. (Source: Reuters)

What’s This Got to Do with Texas?

That, my dear reader, is a very good question. I’m really glad you asked. 🙂  The Lone Star State’s power grid (managed by ERCOT) operates independently, much like Spain’s does within Europe. As Texas ramps up solar and wind energy, it’s facing eerily similar challenges as the demand is expected to outstrip capacity sometime in 2026 based on recent projections:

  • Less Wiggle Room (Inertia and Frequency Stability): More renewables mean less traditional spinning mass (*think turbines at hydro and fossil fuel power plants*). This, in turn, reduces the grid’s ability to absorb sudden changes in electrical demand or supply. Translation? The grid gets “twitchy”.
  • Traffic Jams (Transmission Constraints): Spain’s fiasco underscores what happens when your “energy highways” can’t handle the traffic. Texas faces identical bottlenecks moving power from sunny West Texas to booming cities in the East.  (Our state’s power transmission lines are quickly hitting maximum capacity…if this doesn’t get adequately addressed within the next 24 months, adding more solar and wind probably won’t even matter…)
  • Flexibility, Fast: Like a good athlete, the grid needs to be flexible. Rapid-response resources, such as batteries and quick-start generation, are essential for handling sudden changes in generation or demand. (Source: The Guardian)

 So, What’s Texas Staring At Through 2026?

Taking cues from our Iberian friends (and current Texas trends), here’s what we might be dealing with:

  • Higher Risk of Blackouts: Without some serious grid upgrades, Texans might want to stock up on candles and flashlights, especially during extreme weather or peak summer afternoons.
  • More innovative Grid Management: Texas needs to invest in smarter systems—think real-time monitoring, automated controls, and AI-driven response—to keep the grid from throwing temper tantrums.
  • Policy Catch-Up Time: Texas policymakers must step up, backing infrastructure improvements, promoting energy storage, and ensuring regulations don’t lag behind the renewable energy boom.

The Texas Tribune also recently published a terrific story that goes into a lot more detail here : https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/13/texas-power-grid-ercot-energy-forecast/

 Bottom Line

The blackout in Spain and Portugal earlier this week is more than just a distant news story—it’s Texas’s warning shot. If we’re smart, we’ll learn from Europe’s missteps, proactively building a resilient, reliable grid ready to handle whatever comes our way. If not, well… keep those flashlights handy, yall.

Now is actually the time to hedge your bet against coming Texas Grid instability. Talk to us and let us show you the benefits of adding solar harvesting and battery generation to your commercial building or residence!