Hey Arturo, the other day, I don't know why, don't ask, it's a long story, but a book of yours fell into my hands. He is a writer, you should know. He writes very well, especially history books, about the Romans, Carthaginians, battles and such. So I came across 'The Wrath of Hannibal' which tells the story of Hannibal's battle when he conquered Italy, but he conquered it from the back, so to speak, by invading Hispania, the Romans, and crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps until reaching Italy. Then he didn't finish the job because he didn't reach Rome, right? It reminded me a bit because his name was Hannibal Barca, which means, I think, 'ray', right? Barca means 'lightning', right? Something like that. So this is electric, right? And it's a story that completely changes one of the events that changes the history of humanity, just like the blackout of April 28. So, Arturo, you are the CEO of Enagás. It is the great forgotten, so to speak, of what happened that Monday, that Monday of April 28, because Enagás continued to function perfectly. What role did the company play at that time to sustain the energy system as a whole?
I think it is well known that the gas system provides a backup role to the electrical system of enormous importance. It has been doing so for many years and certainly at the moment on April 28 when the electrical blackout occurred, it was very important that the gas system was prepared to, following the instructions of the electrical system operator, be able to supply the necessary gas so that the combined cycle plants could start up and help restore the electrical system, and that's what happened. The gas system underwent a very important test because the electricity supply is also key for the operation of part of the infrastructure, but the system withstood that test with very close coordination with Red Eléctrica, also participating in its crisis committee, immediately activating Enagás's own crisis committee. We have a joint crisis committee that integrates both the technical system manager and Enagás Transporte, the transporter. Note that the blackout occurred at 12:33, at 12:45 we had already constituted the Enagás crisis committee in person with all areas. So I think what has been demonstrated is that in a very intense process of electrification of the economy, necessary to achieve our decarbonization and competitiveness goals, maintaining a molecule system that complements it is a necessity that in moments like this becomes especially evident. I would emphasize that the gas system passed that test with flying colors, that it was available to contribute to the restoration of the electrical system, and that we did it with close coordination with Red Eléctrica and the electrical system operator, as it should be.
I precisely link this with the next question I wanted to ask you, because one of the debates that has arisen or resurfaced is the possible union in the same company of the electrical and gas system operators, right? And the infrastructures, that would go another way, but would it make sense or not to unite the system operation. For those not familiar with the functioning of Red Eléctrica and Enagás, you actually have two hats. One is managing the cables, in your case the pipes, and the other is managing the energy that circulates through them, right? I am referring to the system operation, that is, making them work, making electrons circulate, and in your case molecules. One of the debates is, should we unite all the system operation in one group, as happens in Portugal, for example.
Well, I think that when the government has been asked about this, it has said that it is not on the table, something like that. I would say that to form a criterion on this issue, Miguel Ángel, we should look at the European model. The European model, overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly, bets on electrical and gas systems closely coordinated but separate. You gave the example of Portugal. It is almost the only example within the European Union. In all the large countries, in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and of course in Spain, the gas and electrical systems are separate, although they function with close coordination, as I said. On the other hand, uniting the system operators would require separating them from the transporter in each case, and that would be a complete anomaly at the European level. At the European level, the concept of TSO, Transmission System Operator, integrates what in Spain is carried out by the system operator or the technical system manager, as we say in Enagás for gas, and the transporter. That integration of technical system manager and transporter is an enormous strength of the system, and that has been clearly demonstrated precisely in the episode of the electrical blackout. As I said, in the case of Enagás, the crisis committee is unique, it is joint. Enagás's crisis management norm establishes that. We have a single joint control center for the manager and the transporter. And this capacity, in the case of the gas system, to supply the necessary gas in an optimal way at the time of need, or that capacity of the electrical network to restore the system in record time. That strength is the product of working integrally of the system manager and the transporter. So I would not propose changing the model because we would weaken it instead of trying to strengthen it.
Very well. Before moving on to the hydrogen topic, which I would like to talk about extensively, I would like to ask you where the blackout caught you, what you thought at that moment, and what you did.
Well, you see, that day I was at our headquarters, at the Enagás headquarters. We were having a technical seminar of the Hydrogen Technology Observatory on electrolyzers for hydrogen production, and at 12:33 the power went out. We waited a moment to see what had happened. The electricity came back because the generators activated immediately, and a few minutes later they came to get me to tell me that the proposal was to convene and constitute the crisis committee, which I preside over in the company. And we all went to the crisis room, which, as I said, was constituted at 12:45. So I was there at the headquarters and I witnessed first-hand that... And you have a crisis protocol, you have a... Well, we have a crisis management manual that we constantly train, we do drills, and at the moment the blackout occurred, the emergency cell was activated when it was confirmed that it was a nationwide blackout and that our facilities were affected, because the regasification plants initially also suffered a zero activity, then we restored them, but when they saw that the blackout was nationwide, we constituted the company's crisis committee 12 minutes after the blackout.
Very well. Let's move on to the hydrogen topic. What role should or can Spain play in the revolution, allow me to call it that, of green hydrogen in Europe?
Green hydrogen is going to be a global revolution. Everything that cannot be electrified in the energy system will need renewable molecules. And those renewable molecules will be biofuels, in the case of gases, biomethane as much as possible, but then the great energy vector supported by molecules will be renewable hydrogen. Europe has already made an irreversible commitment that is advancing at full speed. And within that commitment, Spain has an opportunity, I was going to say unique, not unique, because we are already experiencing it with renewable electricity, which is an opportunity for decarbonization, energy autonomy, and competitiveness. Today I was looking at the reference electricity prices in Europe, and if in Spain they are 3 and a few euros per megawatt-hour, in Germany they are 70. So I think that same effect transferred to green hydrogen reflects to what extent Spain has an extraordinary opportunity to advance in energy and strategic autonomy, decarbonization, and competitiveness. We saw this perfectly yesterday, Miguel Ángel. Yesterday, as you know, the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank for green hydrogen projects was resolved. Of 61 projects submitted, 59% of the projects come from Spain. Of the 15 projects that received a European premium, 12 of them are general in nature. The other three are specifically for maritime transport. Of those 12, eight are projects from Spain. 53% of the projects. The average price of all projects submitted by Spain is 5.5 euros per kilo of hydrogen, the most competitive in Europe. Therefore, we have an extraordinary opportunity. To make that opportunity a reality, we need infrastructure. Without infrastructure, there is no market. And this is demonstrated by the fact that of these 61 projects submitted to the European Hydrogen Bank, two-thirds need a linear infrastructure, a hydrogen duct to connect production and consumption. Therefore, the opportunity is formidable for Spain, Miguel Ángel. It is the other side of the coin of our great opportunity in renewable electricity, and they will allow Spain to be a leader in energy transition in Europe and I would say in the world.
