Overview
- Red Eléctrica activated the Service of Active Demand Response on Wednesday night and ordered large industrial consumers to stop using power from 22:18 to 24:00, drawing on 943 megawatts of the 1,775 MW capacity assigned for July–December 2026.
- REE says supply continuity was never at risk and that the SRAD measure is meant to guarantee required reserve margins rather than to avert an imminent nationwide blackout.
- Companies that bid into SRAD receive a marginal availability payment of €42.62 per MW per hour and each activation is paid at the tertiary regulation price, with 2026 auction rules set after a May modification to procedure PO 7.5.
- Two 2026 auctions mean consumers will cover roughly €434 million in SRAD costs this year, adding to €520 million paid earlier and bringing cumulative payments since mid‑2023 to about €954 million, which industry and generators say are raising tensions over operation costs.
- This was the eighth overall use of SRAD since mid‑2023 and the third activation in 2026, showing how shortfalls in variable wind generation during heat waves are pushing Spain to rely on paid demand reductions as a cheaper alternative to firing gas plants.