Portugal is negotiating with Morocco a submarine energy interconnector that would serve as "insurance against blackouts", according to the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho. Currently, Portugal depends exclusively on Spain for its terrestrial electrical interconnections, which was demonstrated as a risk during the blackout of April 28, 2025. The solution involves a submarine cable that would allow Portugal to turn to Morocco in case of emergency, should the blackout occur in Spain and there is no capacity to restore the grid through black-start power plants.
The project, valued at 800 million euros in 2018, was relaunched after a meeting in Lisbon on June 20 between Maria da Graça Carvalho and her Moroccan counterpart. Portugal intends to apply for European funds for the works and will open a call for interest to assess the interest of private companies. The objective is risk sharing in the construction of this "electricity highway" that would allow exporting Portuguese electricity to Morocco and importing Moroccan electricity, especially solar or wind, to Portugal.
The initiative comes at a time of high tension between Spain and Morocco, after the invasion of Ceuta by 70,000 migrants. The Spanish press, such as the newspaper El Economista, noted that Morocco intends to reduce its exclusive electrical dependence on Spain to connect to Europe, with Portugal being the alternative solution. Spain already has two electrical interconnections with Morocco, but fears that a third connection, now with Portugal, could raise prices in the neighboring country, although it acknowledges that sharing cheaper electricity could benefit both countries.
