Spain's power plants boosted gas use by a third last year after blackout
17/02/2026 07:56
MADRID, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Last year, Spain burned more gas to produce electricity and help keep its power grids stable after a major blackout on April 28, gas grid operator Enagas ENAG.MC said on Tuesday. Following the outage, the grid operator boosted the use of steady power generation like gas plants, which help better control voltage but increase costs. Gas demand to generate electricity rose by roughly 33% last year, Chief Executive Arturo Gonzalo said in a call following the company's 2025 results. Spain's exports of natural gas to France rose roughly 59%, as the neighbouring country filled its underground storages. Overall gas exports rose 17%. Currently, there are approximately 2,100 slots for vessels to unload liquefied natural gas and some 1,000 loading slots through 2040, Gonzalo said. "This data reflects the strength of the Spanish gas system," he said. (Reporting by Pietro Lombardi; Editing by David Latona) ((Pietro.Lombardi@thomsonreuters.com;))