Latest news with #RedEléctrica
Local Spain
18-06-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Spain's grid operator and private firms blame each other for blackout
The continuing row is likely to extend debate over one of Europe's largest-ever power outages, which raised doubts about Spain's commitment to renewable energy and scheduled phase-out of nuclear power. A grid "overvoltage" triggered a "chain reaction" across mainland Spain and Portugal that downed the system on April 28, according to the government report released on Tuesday. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment and forcing protective systems to shut down parts of the grid. The government said the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" and that Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica (REE) and unnamed energy companies disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". REE had lowered its capacity to regulate tension that day, while electricity companies did not contribute as much as expected to control voltage through their power stations, according to the report. REE published its own report on Wednesday and said it "carried out the relevant calculations to schedule technical constraints, always ensuring that all groups comply with the obligations imposed by current regulations". If energy producers responsible for regulating the voltage "had met their tension control obligations... we would not have had a blackout", REE's operations director Concha Sánchez told a news conference. Aelec, an industry association representing power companies including sector giants Iberdrola and Endesa, said controlling tension "falls on Red Eléctrica, as the system operator". "We have evidence that power stations of Aelec members met the regulatory requirements in terms of controlling tension... even operating above the regulatory obligations to contribute to the stability of the electric system," it said in a statement. REE "had enough resources to guarantee the control of voltage... which it nevertheless decided not to dispatch", added Aelec, saying the operator "left the system in a situation of vulnerability".
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Spain Blames Planning Missteps and Technical Problems for Huge Power Outage
The Spanish government said that a nationwide blackout in April that was one of the worst power failures in recent European history was largely caused by planning missteps and cascading technical issues. Almost two months after tens of millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula lost power, the government said in a report released Tuesday that it had ruled out a cyberattack as the cause. It largely blamed the national grid operator and private companies for what it said were failures to respond to a surge in voltage that led to small problems in the grid that then snowballed. The state power company, Red Eléctrica, countered the report on Wednesday, saying that it took reasonable measures to respond to the problems and was not to blame for the disruption. The report is Spain's first major public analysis — and likely last — over what caused an outage that prompted huge disruptions to daily life, stopping trains for hours, shutting down traffic lights and stalling elevators. European Union officials, experts and the power company had said at the time that a cyberattack was unlikely, but Spanish officials said they could not rule it out. The government had asked European regulators and various domestic agencies to investigate what happened. Presenting the government's report on Tuesday, Sara Aagesen, Spain's minister of ecological transition, said that the grid had failed to respond after a series of unusual voltage variations on April 28. A power plant that could have helped the Spanish grid manage the disruptions on the day of the outage was offline, as were other parts of Spain's electrical infrastructure, said Ms. Aagesen, who manages Spain's energy policy. Red Eléctrica had received warnings that something was awry but failed to respond adequately, she said. The day after the power failure, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that he expected answers within 'hours or days' amid widespread outrage over the extent of the outage. Many Spaniards have grown frustrated over the wait for answers. Ms. Aagesen told reporters that Spain's system still needs significant improvements but that the country was working to strengthen measures to protect the grid.
ITV News
18-06-2025
- Climate
- ITV News
Voltage surge caused power cut that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness
A power outage that plunged millions of people into darkness in Spain and Portugal earlier this year was caused by technical and planning errors that left the grid unable to handle a surge in voltage, the Spanish government has said. Environment Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, told reporters that a voltage surge led to small grid failures, mainly in the south of Spain, which then cascaded to larger ones and brought the system down in both countries. She ruled out that the failure was due to a cyberattack. On April 28, around 60% of Spain's electricity was lost in the major blackout, disrupting businesses, transport systems, mobile networks, internet connectivity and other critical infrastructure. Portugal, whose grid is connected to Spain's, also went down. 'All of this happened in 12 seconds, with most of the power loss happening in just five seconds,' Aagesen said. Several technical causes contributed to the event, including 'poor planning' by Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which didn't find a replacement for one power plant that was supposed to help balance power fluctuations, the minister said. She also said that some power plants that utilities shut off preventively when the disruptions started could have stayed online to help manage the system. The Red Eléctrica is yet to respond to the government's claims. The blackout caused a national emergency in Spain as a day of widespread disruption saw cities gridlocked, commuters trapped inside trains and flights grounded. There were also reports of medical services implementing emergency plans to mitigate the impact on the healthcare system. Sports events were also cancelled, businesses were forced shut and people were seen queuing at cash machines to access funds. Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day. In the weeks following the blackout, the outage ignited a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power and not enough energy generated from nuclear or gas-fired power plants had something to do with the grid failing, which the government has repeatedly denied. Spain is at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57% of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended the country's rapid ramping up of renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimeter' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain reveals cause of massive blackout that cancelled flights and left 80,000 stranded
A report released by authorities in Madrid has revealed that a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal in April was the result of technical and planning errors. The outage, which left tens of millions without power, was triggered by a chain reaction of small grid failures concentrated in southern Spain, according to Spain's Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen. Speaking at a press conference, Ms Aagesen ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack. She cited "the poor planning" by grid operators as a contributing factor, as they failed to find a replacement for a power plant intended to balance power fluctuations. The blackout on 28 April began shortly after 12.30pm and lasted through the evening, disrupting businesses, transit systems, cellular networks, internet connectivity, and other critical infrastructure. Within five seconds, Spain lost 15gigawatts of electricity, approximately 60 per cent of its supply. Portugal, connected to Spain's grid, also experienced a blackout, while island territories were unaffected. About 500 flights were cancelled, affecting 80,000 passengers, and many travellers slept in train stations as they were unable to get home. Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day. The government report included analysts from Spain's national security agencies, which concluded, according to the minister, there were no indications of cyber-sabotage by foreign actors. The only solid information made public shortly after the system went down came from Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which had narrowed down the source of the outage to two separate incidents in southern Spain where substations had failed. In the weeks following the blackout, citizens and experts were left wondering what triggered the event in a region not known for power outages and igniting a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power had something to do with the grid failing. Spain is at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57 per cent of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimetre' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
NBC News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Spain says April blackout was caused by grid failures and poor planning, not a cyberattack
MADRID — Spain's government said Tuesday that the massive April power outage across Spain and Portugal that left tens of millions of people disconnected in seconds was caused by technical and planning errors that left the grid unable to handle a surge in voltage. Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, told reporters that a voltage surge led to small grid failures, mainly in the south of Spain, which then cascaded to larger ones and brought the system down in the two Iberian Peninsula nations. She ruled out that the failure was due to a cyberattack. The outage began shortly after noon on April 28 in Spain and lasted through nightfall, disrupting businesses, transit systems, cellular networks, internet connectivity and other critical infrastructure. Spain lost 15 gigawatts of electricity — or about 60% of its supply. Portugal, whose grid is connected to Spain's, also went down. Only the countries' island territories were spared. 'All of this happened in 12 seconds, with most of the power loss happening in just five seconds,' Aagesen said. Several technical causes contributed to the event, including 'poor planning' by Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which didn't find a replacement for one power plant that was supposed to help balance power fluctuations, the minister said. She also said that some power plants that utilities shut off preventively when the disruptions started could have stayed online to help manage the system. Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day. The government's report was to be released later Tuesday — 49 days after the event — and included analysis from Spain's national security agencies, which concluded, according to the minister, that there were no indications of cyber-sabotage by foreign actors. The government had previously narrowed down the source of the outage to three power plants that tripped in southern Spain. In the weeks following the blackout, citizens and experts were left wondering what triggered the event in a region not known for power cuts. The outage ignited a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power and not enough energy generated from nuclear or gas-fired power plants had something to do with the grid failing, which the government has repeatedly denied. Spain is at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57% of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources such as wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended the country's rapid ramping up of renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimeter' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
