For much of the past decade, Europe’s energy debate has revolved around accelerating decarbonisation. Progress has been measured by the growth of renewable capacity, emissions reduction targets and market reforms, as if success could be reduced to a set of numerical indicators.
But as geopolitical and extreme weather challenges have increased in both frequency and severity, the other two challenges of the energy trilemma – energy security and affordability – have reasserted their importance. While the cost of energy remains a perennial priority, network resilience has moved from a technical concern to a central performance test for modern power systems.
Earlier this year, Portugal offered a stark illustration of this shift. Storm Kristin brought unprecedented rainfall and winds, causing widespread flooding and forcing grid operators to interrupt electricity supply in multiple areas, both because of extensive physical damage to lines and pylons and, in some cases, to protect public safety during emergency operations. At the peak, several thousand customers were without power across the country. The damage spread across high, medium and low-voltage infrastructure, from very high voltage pylons to distribution lines in urban and rural areas. Local officials highlighted that the physical impact in some regions was comparable to or even greater than past the very major storms in the country, underlining the exceptional scale of disruption.
Storm Kristin went beyond a technical glitch. It tested the electricity grid in real conditions and revealed just how vulnerable energy infrastructure can be to extreme weather disruption. The Storm also demonstrated how quickly issues of security of supply, emergency response and public communication become visible to citizens and decision-makers.
Resilience in practice
Energy systems across Portugal and Europe have long been designed to be resilient to disruption and risks. However, as the scale, severity and frequency of extreme weather increases, unanticipated challenges are emerging. Networks designed to operate under past conditions are suddenly facing demands that challenge their very foundations, forcing operators to adapt in real time. Events like Storm Kristin have encouraged dynamic new approaches to overcome, including combining transmission and distribution operators’ field repair efforts, remote switching and close coordination with Government and civil protection agencies to restore power as safely and quickly.
Practical lessons from the Portuguese experience include:
- Prioritising network segmentation and redundancy – Building more resilient, modular energy grids that can isolate and fix damaged sections quickly – so local outages don’t spread across whole regions.
- Integrating predictive monitoring systems – Utilising the latest technologies and models to integrate weather forecasting, sensor networks and real-time analytics to anticipate critical loads and pre-position resources.
- Adaptable restoration protocols – Building more flexible response plans that coordinate generation, distribution and emergency services to reduce outage duration.
- Targeted investment in physical upgrades – Strengthening infrastructure by burying lines in high-risk areas, reinforcing pylons and improving insulation on exposed equipment.
- Expanding automation and remote control – Remote control lets operators reconfigure the grid quickly and reconnect customers in stages as conditions improve.
A peripheral challenge with European significance
Portugal’s experience should not be seen in isolation.
Across Europe, especially in southern and peripheral regions, renewable energy generation has expanded rapidly, often connected to the wider energy system through extensive overhead networks. While these reinforcements have boosted network capacity to support low carbon generation, they have also increased grid exposure to increasingly volatile weather conditions. While these system upgrades have accelerated decarbonisation, storms like Kristin have highlighted the importance of ensuring that new infrastructure can endure physical stresses without causing prolonged outages. For countries with a high percentage of overhead lines, this exposure is particularly visible when storms simultaneously damage multiple parts of the network.
Debates over measures like undergrounding power lines show just how complex these choices can be. While such investments can make the grid much more resilient, undergrounding cables can cost an average of 4.5 times more than the same distance of overhead lines, while taking significantly longer to construct. Policymakers and network operators must balance faster decarbonisation with affordability and reliability, as long-term risks become more diverse and less predictable. Therefore, decisions on where and how to reinforce the grid increasingly sit at the intersection of regulation, investment capacity and changing climate risk.
Implications for decision-making in 2026
These questions underline the role of decision-makers more clearly than ever. As extreme weather becomes more frequent, they can’t rely on one-off upgrades and must take a whole-systems approach They must understand how the system responds under pressure and ensure operators communicate effectively with the public when disruptions occur. This includes setting clear resilience standards, supporting investment in critical networks and demanding transparent reporting on how outages are managed and lessons are applied.
As the former French Prime Minister Pierre Mendes‐France famously observed, “to govern is to choose”. Today’s energy policymakers can’t focus on just one part of the energy trilemma. They must invest in decarbonisation and resilience while keeping energy bills affordable. Crucially, they must also communicate and justify their decisions, while highlighting the benefits to consumers.
Storm Kristin did not derail Portugal’s energy transition, but it highlighted a reality that affects energy systems across Europe: decarbonisation alone is no longer the benchmark of success. In an era defined by climate volatility, resilience has become just as central and just as visible to the credibility and reliability of modern energy infrastructure.
The real test from 2026 onwards is whether electricity systems can decarbonise quickly and still withstand – and recover from – the extreme events driven by climate change.
If you’re looking to communicate your role in building a more resilient electricity system, TEAM LEWIS can help. Get in touch to see how we can support your goals.
