Redeia CEO paid €546k before massive Spanish blackout

€546,000 a year and an unexplained blackout

The president of Redeia, Beatriz Corredor, received €546,000 in 2024 leading the company that manages Spain's electricity grid. Months earlier, she had assured on television that Spain had "the best electrical system in the world" and that there was "no risk, short or medium term, of a blackout." Then the blackout peine. And with it, the uncomfortable question: what technical background does the person directing critical infrastructure for 50 million people have?

Beatriz Corredor's background and role

Corredor is a former Minister of Housing under Zapatero's government and reached the presidency of Red Eléctrica (now Redeia) without a technical CV in the energy sector. Her appointment fits into the long list of former senior Socialist officials recycled onto boards of state-owned enterprises. The main shareholder of Redeia is precisely the State through SEPI.

According to various analyses, the real power structure in the company does not pass through the presidency: the CEO is the one who executes and decides. The president acts as an institutional figure, with remuneration that reached €546,000 gross in 2024. To this are added, according to available information, €16,000 in allowances for attending board meetings.

What peine to the missing 15 gigawatts?

The blackout left Spain without supply and with a lingering question: where did 15 gigawatts of generation go? This figure is repeated in analyses as the system's black hole. There is no closed official explanation. The wholesale electricity price skyrocketed by 450% the next day, reaching €31.87 per megawatt-hour, compared to €5.79 the previous day.

Some argue the origin was overvoltage due to poorly managed renewables. Others point to nuclear plant failures. The official version rules out nuclear plants. None of the hypotheses have been conclusively confirmed.

How much do Redeia employees earn and who pays?

The average remuneration of Redeia's staff stood at €75,000 in 2024, 5.6% more than the €71,000 of the previous year. It is a state-participated company paying salaries like a private multinational. The paradox highlighted by several analyses: those moving to Andorra to pay taxes are criticized, while these figures from a quasi-public entity are accepted without noise.

The Jordi Sevilla precedent and nuclear closure

Jordi Sevilla, former Socialist minister and former president of Red Eléctrica between 2018 and 2020, was dismissed amid the debate on closing nuclear plants. His stance was clear: "We cannot afford the luxury of closing nuclear power stations." He claimed he had not heard "a single technical reason" for a nuclear shutdown. Then came Corredor. The pattern described by some analyses: the dissenting technician is replaced by the obedient manager.

Corredor's relationship with PSOE

Published photographs show Corredor celebrating PSOE events alongside Sánchez, Ábalos, and Begoña Gómez. This is not a minor detail: it reinforces the thesis that her appointment responds to political trust criteria, not technical merits. The overarching question is whether a company managing a country's electricity grid can afford such a profile in charge.

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The debate about the suitability of public officials in strategic companies is not new. What is new is that a blackout of this magnitude has put the spotlight on a president earning half a million a year who, according to critics, would not be able to explain Kirchhoff's laws. The cautious prediction: if there are no resignations or convincing technical explanations, the issue will dilute in the next crisis. As always.