The state should take 100% control of Spain’s power grid operator, Red Eléctrica.
This was stated on Thursday by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, just days after the country experienced its worst power outage. Red Eléctrica, known as REE, is 20% owned by the state, with the remaining shares held by private entities.
“REE is a private monopoly. That cannot be,” said Díaz.
Díaz is also the Minister of Labor and a member of the far-left Sumar party, which is the junior partner in Spain’s coalition government. She noted that the Socialist Party, the senior coalition partner, does not agree that the state should take full control.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the government is conducting an investigation into the power outage, which on Monday halted trains, closed airports, and left people trapped in elevators across the Iberian Peninsula.
As part of the investigation, investigators from Spain’s cybersecurity agency INCIBE and the intelligence service CNI will collect information from the power grid operator and private energy companies, including by visiting their offices.
