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Spain identifies overvoltage as the cause of nationwide blackout
A government report released Tuesday has revealed that the massive power outage that paralyzed Spain and parts of Portugal in April was triggered by an "overvoltage" on the electrical grid, leading to a cascading failure. The incident, which disrupted internet, telephone services, train operations, and businesses, affected millions across the Iberian Peninsula and briefly impacted southwestern France.
Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen explained that the grid experienced "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the day of the blackout, exacerbating the situation. Overvoltage, which occurs when excessive electrical voltage overloads equipment, can result from network surges due to oversupply, lightning strikes, or malfunctioning protective systems.
The minister pointed to errors by the Spanish grid operator REE and unnamed energy companies that disconnected their plants "inappropriately" to safeguard their equipment. These actions contributed to what Aagesen described as "an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could have been mitigated if preventative measures had been in place to handle the overvoltage.
The April 28 blackout prompted widespread disruption, cutting off communication networks, halting transportation systems, and plunging cities into darkness. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez quickly launched an inquiry, warning that understanding the event's complexities would take months. Early theories, including a cyberattack or a failure caused by excess renewable energy production, were ruled out by authorities.
Aagesen reiterated on Tuesday that vulnerabilities in the grid's security systems had been identified, and corrective measures would be proposed to prevent future incidents. However, she defended the robustness of Spain's grid, stating it should theoretically be able to handle such crises.
The opposition has criticized the government’s reliance on renewable energy and its gradual phase-out of nuclear power, arguing that these policies have increased the risk of blackouts. The government, however, refutes these claims, maintaining that neither the transition to renewables nor the reduction of nuclear energy contributed to the crisis.