Morocco’s Power Play during Iberian Blackout Redraws Strategic Lines

On April 28, 2025, the Iberian Peninsula experienced a sudden and crippling power failure that brought large parts of Spain, Portugal, and southern France to a standstill. In just five seconds, Spain lost more than 15 gigawatts of electricity—approximately 60% of its national energy demand—resulting in one of the most extensive energy collapses in Western Europe’s modern history. Airports were paralyzed, trains stopped mid-journey, telecommunications faltered, and emergency systems were forced onto limited backup power. 

In the aftermath, as analysts ruled out cyberattacks and sabotage and pointed instead to a catastrophic grid failure potentially triggered by extreme atmospheric fluctuations, one detail stood out above the rest: while much of the continent scrambled to assess the damage, the Kingdom of Morocco acted. Within hours of the outage, at the formal request of Spain’s Red Eléctrica, Morocco activated its electricity interconnection—two high-voltage submarine cables that run beneath the Strait of Gibraltar—enabling the immediate transfer of power to reenergize stalled Spanish power stations and accelerate the restoration of supply. 

The cables, connecting the Fardioua substation near Tangier with the Tarifa station in southern Spain, transmitted up to 900 megawatts of stable electricity precisely when Spain needed it most. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly acknowledged Morocco’s crucial support, offering thanks in a national address that also praised France’s contributions. That one gesture—quiet, technical, but decisive—changed the narrative from a story of regional vulnerability to one of resilience and unexpected leadership. It also sent a strategic signal that demands close attention. 

Morocco’s intervention was not a spontaneous gesture of goodwill. It was the result of long-term strategic investments in energy capacity, cross-border infrastructure, and international cooperation. For over two decades, Morocco has positioned itself as a hub for renewable energy development, grid reliability, and intercontinental connectivity. What occurred during the blackout was not merely a humanitarian response—it was energy diplomacy in action, and an unmistakable demonstration of soft power grounded in infrastructure. 

At a time when conventional tools of influence—military deployment, economic pressure, and diplomatic rhetoric—are showing their limitations, Morocco provided a different model: geopolitical relevance through service delivery. This wasn’t just about electricity. It was about readiness, capacity, and trust, exercised in real time across international borders. And it matters far beyond the Iberian Peninsula. 

Morocco’s ability to stabilize a NATO member’s power grid during its most vulnerable hours underscores the growing strategic role of non-NATO partners who invest in capabilities that directly support regional and global stability. It also reflects a subtle but important shift: power today is not merely a matter of controlling territory or projecting force—it is about who can keep critical systems online when the unexpected happens. Infrastructure, once treated as a domestic policy concern, is now clearly a pillar of international security. 

The blackout happened just days before Morocco takes center stage as guest of honour at the 4th Europe-Africa Forum, a platform designed to deepen cross-continental cooperation in trade, energy, and digital connectivity. That timing is more than symbolic. In a geopolitical landscape where the Sahel is destabilized by extremist violence and Russian-aligned private military groups, and where the Mediterranean is increasingly viewed as a buffer zone rather than a border, Morocco is emerging not only as a bridge but as a bulwark. And it’s doing so without fanfare, by simply being the country that gets things done when it counts. 

Its influence is quiet, but growing. The Kingdom’s renewable energy push—including the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex, one of the largest in the world—has positioned it to export clean power across Africa and into Europe. Its energy ties with Spain and Portugal are not aspirational; they are already operational, and, as this crisis proved, essential. The ability to move electricity across continents at moments of critical need is not just a technical achievement—it’s a form of strategic leverage. 

For policymakers evaluating alliance structures, energy resilience, and strategic investments, Morocco’s response to the blackout should serve as a case study in future-focused diplomacy. It demonstrated that functional infrastructure—grid connections, energy storage, renewable capacity—can be just as decisive in shaping influence as military hardware or trade volume. In fact, in moments of crisis, they may matter more. When Spain needed immediate help, Morocco delivered—not with speeches or sanctions, but with volts and speed.