- The day electricity also started hanging up the “sold out” signPosted by Eva Linares on Linked
- In on March 10, 2026,
- Why Anticipating Electricity Capacity Is Becoming StrategicThere’s a very common situation when you’re traveling by car and decide not to book a hotel.
You want to keep the freedom to choose as you go, so you drive along calmly, thinking that when the time comes, you’ll find a room without any trouble.
It’s not peak season. There are no conferences. There are dozens of hotels.
So you book late. Or even on the same day.
And when you arrive in the city… everything is fully booked.
If you’re the type who plans ahead, this has probably never happened to you.
But if you’ve ever planned a trip on the fly, you know the feeling: stress, uncertainty, and the uncomfortable question of what to do next.
Something similar is starting to happen with electricity.
And the same goes for energy cost optimization.
- Energy is becoming about access, not just prices
For years, the energy conversation in companies has revolved around one question:
“At what price do we buy energy?”
But now another question is beginning to emerge—one that until recently seemed unlikely:
“Will there be capacity to connect us when we need it?”
According to data published by Red Eléctrica, only 25% of the connection points in the transmission grid currently have available capacity for new demand.
In other words: three out of every four “outlets” on the grid are already saturated.
And this doesn’t just affect new industries.
It affects expansions, new production facilities, data centers, and urban development projects.
And, of course, it can also affect your company.
- A problem that almost no one seesWhen it starts to get overloaded, you don’t notice it.
When it’s overloaded, you don’t notice it.
There are no visible traffic jams.
There are no red lights.
There is no clear sign that the system is reaching its limit.
And yet, the impact can be enormous.
You surely remember last year’s massive blackout; it came without warning and faded from our memory. No one saw it coming.
According to energy analysts themselves, a collapsed grid can delay the establishment of new industries or strategic investments for years.
In other words: the problem doesn’t show up on the bill.
It shows up when your company wants to grow.
- When energy ceases to be a purchasing itemIn many executive committees, energy is still treated as a purchasing department item.
The price is negotiated, the contract is signed, and the matter is filed away as “resolved.”
But when the infrastructure starts to reach capacity, that approach is no longer enough.
Because it’s no longer just about how much energy costs.
Because it’s no longer just about how much energy costs.
It’s about whether you’ll be able to access it when your business needs it.
And at that point, energy ceases to be an operational issue.
It becomes a strategic decision.
- When everyone wants the same room
The problem isn’t that there’s a shortage of electricity.
In fact, Spain is breaking records for renewable energy generation.
The real problem is something else: while more and more energy is being produced, the grid that must transport it isn’t growing at the same pace.
By 2024, around 8% of the renewable energy generated was already being wasted, and by 2025 that figure had doubled.
Meanwhile, new industries wait years to get connected—that plug they need to start operating.
It’s like a city full of hotels… but with very few rooms available.
- The difference between planning ahead and being late to the partyWhen you travel to a city hosting a major event, there are two types of travelers.
Those who book months in advance.
And those who arrive thinking that, somehow, they’ll find something.
In the energy sector, unfortunately, there are still many companies that operate like those second types of travelers.
Companies that anticipate what they will need in the future—whether new plants, expansions, or process electrification—have a better chance of securing that desired connection.
Those who wait until the last minute face a problem that has nothing to do with price.
It depends on the available capacity in the grid.
- The questions a CEO should start asking themselves
If your company relies on electricity to grow, run processes, or expand production, you might want to start asking yourself some questions:
- Do we have the electrical capacity secured for our growth plans?
- Are we anticipating connection needs with sufficient margin?
- Are we treating energy as an operational risk or just as a purchase?
- Do we know how a two- or three-year delay in a new connection would affect our business?
- Because there is one thing that needs to be clear:
- the power grid is not an unlimited resource.
- The problem isn’t paying more for electricity.The strategic mistake rarely lies in paying a few cents more per kilowatt-hour.
The real mistake is usually realizing too late that there is no available capacity when your company needs to grow.
And then the problem is no longer the price.
The problem is that there’s no outlet.
And at that point, there’s nothing left to do but wait for capacity to become available on the network.
Something that can take years.
- Traveling with a reservation or relying on luck
At this point, I’m sure your company doesn’t want to rely on luck.
Companies that plan their grid access in advance have room to make decisions.
Those that don’t simply depend on the system’s availability.
Because managing costs is one thing.
And managing uncertainty is quite another.
If you want to analyze your company’s exposure to this problem and explore options for anticipating it, we can review it together.
Because in the energy sector, getting there first often makes all the difference.
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Have a great day.
