Morocco Aids Spain During Massive Power Outage, Reversing Energy Flow

In the kingdom, the news was received with a certain pride, reports El Confidential. The press widely relayed the Spanish thanks, insisting on the Moroccan network’s ability to remain stable, unlike other European neighbors, despite the shock. A real feat when you know that at the time of the blackout, Morocco was drawing about 12% of its needs (778 MWh) from the Spanish line. The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) managed to handle the sudden cut successfully. "The Moroccan electrical network is operational and has not been affected," an office spokesperson emphasized.

But how was Morocco able to help concretely? It wasn’t about massively supplying current, but rather giving the essential "spark". Spain needed a power injection to restart crucial thermal power plants in the south of the country, which had been shut down by the outage. This is where the unique underwater interconnection between the two countries, via the Strait of Gibraltar, came into play. "We restored the interconnections and made available a certain capacity of a few hundred megawatts to allow the system to restart," an ONEE source confirmed to the Moroccan press.

This technical feat is partly explained by the very nature of this connection. Unlike connections with other European countries, often in alternating current requiring constant synchronization, the Spanish-Moroccan link is in direct current. According to expert Amine Bennouna, this "guarantees almost total independence" between the two networks, drastically limiting the risk of the outage spreading. Morocco also had its own reserve capacities (diesel, gas) to ensure its internal stability.

While the Moroccan electrical network held up well, the country still suffered some repercussions from the Spanish outage. International internet connections transiting through Spain were disrupted. Consequence: chaos in Moroccan airports where passenger check-in had to be done "manually", as explained by the National Airports Office (ONDA). The operator Orange also reported difficulties on its Moroccan network.

In the end, despite its usual status as a net importer of electricity from Spain (more than 2,500 gigawatts received in 2024), Morocco was able to play an essential and unexpected technical role thanks to the specific configuration of its interconnection with its northern neighbor, contributing to get Spain back on its feet.