Posted by Eva Linares on Linked
on 10 March 2026,
Why anticipating electricity capacity is becoming a strategic priority
There’s a very common scenario when you’re travelling by car and decide not to book a hotel.
You want the freedom to choose as you go along, so you drive along calmly, thinking that when the time comes, you’ll find a room without any trouble.
Es ist keine Hochsaison. Es finden keine Konferenzen statt. Es gibt Dutzende von Hotels.
So you book late. Or even on the day itself.
And when you arrive in the city… everything is full.
If you’re the sort who plans ahead, this has probably never happened to you.
But if you’ve ever improvised a trip, you know the feeling: stress, uncertainty and the uncomfortable question of what to do now.
Ähnliches zeichnet sich nun auch bei der Stromversorgung ab.
And with energy cost optimisation too.
Bei der Energie geht es zunehmend um den Zugang und nicht mehr nur um die Preise
Seit Jahren dreht sich die Energiediskussion in Unternehmen um eine Frage:
„Zu welchem Preis kaufen wir Energie?“
But now another question is beginning to emerge, one that until recently seemed unlikely:
„Wird es die Kapazitäten geben, uns anzuschließen, wenn wir sie brauchen?“
According to data published by Red Eléctrica, only 25% of connection points on the transmission grid currently have available capacity for new demand.
In other words: three out of every four ‘sockets’ on the grid are already saturated.
Und das betrifft nicht nur neue Branchen.
It affects expansions, new production facilities, data centres and urban developments.
And, of course, it could also affect your business.
A problem that almost no one sees
The electricity grid has a peculiarity.
When it starts to become saturated, you don’t notice it.
When it is saturated, you don’t notice it.
There are no visible queues.
Es gibt keine roten Ampeln.
There is no clear sign indicating that the system is reaching its limit.
Und doch können die Auswirkungen enorm sein.
You surely remember last year’s major blackout; it arrived without warning and faded from our memory. No one saw it coming.
According to energy analysts themselves, a grid collapse can delay the establishment of new industries or strategic investments for years.
Mit anderen Worten: Das Problem taucht auf der Rechnung nicht auf.
It appears when your company wants to grow.
When energy ceases to be a purchasing item
In many management 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 become overloaded, that approach is no longer enough.
Because it is no longer just about how much energy costs.
It is about whether you will be able to access it when your business needs it.
Und ab diesem Zeitpunkt ist Energie kein betriebliches Problem mehr.
Das wird zu einer strategischen Entscheidung.
Wenn alle denselben Raum wollen
The problem isn’t a lack of electricity.
Tatsächlich bricht Spanien derzeit Rekorde bei der Erzeugung erneuerbarer Energien.
The real problem is this: whilst 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.
Es ist wie eine Stadt voller Hotels … in der es aber nur sehr wenige freie Zimmer gibt.
The difference between planning and being late
When you travel to a city hosting a major event, there are two types of travellers.
Diejenigen, die schon Monate im Voraus buchen.
And those who turn up thinking that, somehow, they’ll find something.
In the energy sector, unfortunately, there are still many companies that operate like those second types of travellers.
Companies that anticipate what they will need in the future—whether new plants, expansions or process electrification—have more scope to secure that desired connection.
Those that wait until the last minute face a problem that does not depend on price.
Das hängt von der verfügbaren Kapazität im Netz ab.
The questions a CEO should start asking
If your company relies on electricity to grow, to run processes or expand production, it might be worth starting to ask yourself some questions:
- Verfügen wir über die erforderliche Stromkapazität für unsere Wachstumspläne?
- Planen wir den Verbindungsbedarf mit ausreichender Reserve ein?
- Are we treating energy as an operational risk or merely as a purchase?
- Wissen wir, wie sich eine Verzögerung von zwei oder drei Jahren bei einem neuen Anschluss auf unser Geschäft auswirken würde?
Denn eines muss klar sein:
the electricity 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.
The real mistake is usually realising too late that there is no capacity available when your company needs to grow.
Und dann ist das Problem nicht mehr der Preis.
The problem is that there is no socket.
And at that point, there is no choice but to wait for capacity to become available on the grid.
Das kann Jahre dauern.
Planning ahead or relying on luck
By now, I am sure that your company does not want to rely on luck.
Companies that plan their grid access in advance have room for manoeuvre.
Diejenigen, die nicht allein von der Verfügbarkeit des Systems abhängen.
Denn Kosten zu kontrollieren ist eine Sache.
Und mit Unsicherheit umzugehen, ist etwas ganz anderes.
If you’d like to analyse your company’s exposure to this problem and what options exist to anticipate it, we can look into it together.
Because in energy, getting there first often makes all the difference.
Vielen Dank, dass Sie auch diese Woche wieder mitgelesen haben.
Have a lovely day.
