Power Resilience Starts at Home – And It's More Urgent Than Ever

On April 28, 2025, the Iberian Peninsula experienced one of the most dramatic blackouts in recent European history. In just five seconds, 15 gigawatts of power, around 60% of Spain’s electricity supply, vanished… plunging tens of millions into darkness across Spain and Portugal. Transport halted, hospitals scrambled, internet and commerce collapsed. It was a stark reminder that our energy infrastructure, even in highly developed nations, is still alarmingly fragile.

And it was not renewables at fault.

According to the preliminary investigation by Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition, the cause lay in a voltage surge and inadequate capacity planning not solar or wind. In fact, the failure of traditional thermal plants to stabilise the grid was a major contributor to the cascading failures that followed.

What this means for power companies

The Iberian blackout has triggered a loud and clear wake-up call across Europe’s energy sector. Utilities and transmission operators are now under increasing pressure to build more resilient, decentralised, and flexible infrastructure. That means:

• Redundancy planning: ensuring backup capacity is available not only in generation but also in grid frequency and voltage control.

• Energy storage expansion: scaling battery storage at both grid and community level to smooth out fluctuations and supply shocks.

• Grid modernisation: upgrading control systems and investing in digital solutions that detect, isolate, and respond to faults in real time.

• Integrating renewables intelligently: enabling solar, wind, and hydro to provide firm services like frequency regulation and voltage support, not just clean power.

In short, the path to net zero is about making the whole system smarter and stronger.

Power Resilience Starts at Home

While grid operators upgrade their systems, homeowners are not  waiting around.

In North America, recent research by Wood Mackenzie shows a sharp rise in residential solar plus battery installations, driven by extreme weather, rising energy prices, and frequent blackouts. People are no longer just trying to save money but they are investing in peace of mind, energy independence, and resilience.

This mirrors what we are seeing in Europe. In Germany, Italy, and increasingly the UK, home battery installations have surged in the past 18 months. The message is clear: people want control. They want to know the lights, the fridge, the Wi-Fi and the heat pump will stay on when the grid goes down.

Why This Matters for Hummingbird and the Future of Energy

At Hummingbird, we see this shift as more than just a market trend. It is a social and environmental turning point… a decentralised, democratised energy movement.

• For candidates: There is a growing need for professionals skilled in home energy systems, battery integration, smart grids, and distributed energy management.

• For clients: Companies working on energy storage, home solar systems, microgrid tech, or grid resilience need talent with purpose and that is where we come in.

• For the planet: Every home that becomes energy-independent takes pressure off the grid and reduces emissions. It is resilience in action and it’s exactly the kind of change we want to be part of.

Turning disruption into opportunity

The Iberian blackout was a wake-up call. As the global energy transition accelerates, resilience must be built into the system from the ground up, starting with our homes, our communities, and our workforce.

At Hummingbird, we are proud to partner with businesses and individuals shaping this new era of energy. Whether it is helping a skilled professional pivot into the solar sector, or supporting a company scaling its storage solution across Europe… we are here to ensure the right people are in the right roles to make it happen.

Because resilience is not just about bouncing back.

It’s about powering forward, together.