From Iberia to Chile, 2025 has been defined by blackouts that plunged entire nations into darkness. Whether caused by extreme weather, aging grids, technical breakdowns, or a mix of all three, these growing incidence of these events reveal a deeper truth: our energy systems are no longer just outdated, they are overstretched, fragile, and increasingly unfit for the demands of a changing world.
When the grid goes down, the impact is immediate and far-reaching. Cities grind to a halt, transportation networks freeze, digital communications collapse, and the most critical services—like hospitals—are left dangerously exposed.
The financial fallout is staggering: Iberia’s April blackout alone racked up losses nearing €4.5 billion. Meanwhile, in the UK, high-profile incidents such as the Heathrow airport outage have transformed energy resilience from a technical concern into a boardroom imperative. According to Verdantix, more than a quarter of UK firms now see resilience as the primary catalyst for investing in the energy transition.
And it’s not just blackouts we need to prepare against. Recent research found that a record one million hectares have burned across the European Union so far this year. These escalating climate shocks are compounding the strain on our energy infrastructure, underscoring the urgent need for resilience.
Resilience in the era of Electricity 4.0
We’re entering the era of Electricity 4.0, where electrification and digitalization converge at scale to deliver cleaner, more efficient energy. But our energy systems are still built on outdated, centralized models that are not set up to cope with today’s demands.
Climate shocks, geopolitical instability, and volatile markets are exposing the fragility of legacy infrastructure. After the Russia/Ukraine conflict began, average residential electricity prices jumped by nearly 30% in Europe with a knock-on effect around the world. In addition, many grids increasingly struggle to balance supply and demand in real time.
Businesses are feeling the heat from this energy instability. Verdantix found that 56% of global leaders now rank energy price volatility as a top concern, and are investing accordingly.
Smarter, cleaner, faster: The grids of tomorrow
Resilience today means more than backup generators. In an increasingly unpredictable world, we need intelligent, flexible, digital systems—networks that sense conditions in real time, analyze incoming data, and automatically adjust operations to avoid outages. This means grids that automatically balance supply and demand, microgrids that island themselves during outages, and storage systems that dispatch power exactly when and where it’s needed.
Making grids work smarter — not harder
Smart grids are the backbone of modern energy resilience. They use advanced monitoring, communication, and control technologies to detect issues early, reroute electricity where it's needed, and recover faster from disruptions.
In Serbia, Schneider Electric helped modernize the national grid with a €140 million upgrade. Using connected products, advanced software, and automation, we helped digitalize the country’s medium-voltage grid to improve efficiency, support greater integration of renewable sources like solar and wind, and better balance supply and demand. Enhanced data management now helps optimize and decarbonize energy use on the demand side, supporting Serbia’s broader green energy transition.
AI is key to this shift. It is able to predict failures before they happen, orchestrate energy flows across decentralized networks, and dynamically balance demand with renewable supply. It’s not just smarter. It’s faster, cleaner, and more resilient.
Demand-side flexibility: Unlocking grid stability and efficiency
Resilience isn't only about generating more power, but using it better. Demand-side flexibility allows consumers to shift energy use in response to real-time conditions such as sudden spikes in demand from the use of air conditioning during hot weather, dups in renewable generation due to weather changes, or fluctuations in electricity prices. With AI-enabled technologies – such as EcoStruxure Building Operation Software, smart appliances, and microgrids - consumption can automatically be optimized. For example, a building’s HVAC system could pre-cool spaces in the morning when solar energy is plentiful, then reduce usage during the afternoon peak, all without human intervention. This approach cuts emissions, stabilizes the grid, and lowers costs for everyone: businesses avoid peak charges by adjusting HVAC or production schedules, households can charge electric vehicles when prices are low, and utilities can coordinate distributed energy resources to keep the grid balanced.
A great example is SA Power Networks, one of Schneider’s partners in South Australia. By leveraging EcoStruxure ADMS, SA Power Networks can now monitor and manage its vast electricity network in real time. With one million data points registered, the system helps protect over one million households, ensuring reliable power even during extreme weather events.
Tailoring solutions to local realities
But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Energy resilience must reflect local realities, from climate risks to economic goals.
For example: in Europe, energy sovereignty is driving massive investment in grid modernization and clean tech. In hurricane-prone U.S. states or Australia’s bushfire regions, microgrids offer lifelines where traditional infrastructure falls short.
The technology exists. The challenge now is scaling the right solutions in the right places. And quickly.
Preparing for the future
To truly futureproof our energy systems, we must move beyond incremental improvements and embrace transformation by using the technologies we already have today. By upgrading existing grid assets with digital technologies, we can unlock new levels of efficiency, flexibility, and reliability without the need for wholesale redesign.
Resilience is no longer a technical challenge alone; it is a strategic imperative. Leaders across government, industry, and society must champion a new era of collaboration, where data-driven insights, flexible technologies, and local expertise come together to make today’s systems stronger and more adaptive.
The question is not whether disruption will come, but how prepared we will be when it arrives. By equipping existing infrastructure with smart technologies, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and empowering communities to play an active role, we can redefine energy resilience and ensure our systems remain robust in the face of change.