Spain’s national power grid operator and the country’s electricity providers exchanged accusations on Wednesday regarding the widespread blackout in April that impacted the Iberian Peninsula.
The clash comes just one day after a long-anticipated government investigation placed responsibility on both sides. ALSO READ: Reasons for Spain’s April power blackout: ‘overvoltage’ & ‘poor planning’.
The on-going dispute is set to prolong discussions surrounding one of the most significant power failures in European history – an incident that has sparked concerns over Spain’s dedication to green energy initiatives and its planned nuclear energy phase-out.
According to the government report released on Tuesday, the outage on 28 April stemmed from an electrical ‘overvoltage’ that initiated a ‘chain reaction’ throughout mainland Spain and Portugal, ultimately collapsing the grid.
Overvoltage refers to a surge in electrical voltage within a network, which can overwhelm infrastructure and trigger automatic shutdowns by protective systems in place to prevent further damage.
Authorities found that the network ‘lacked sufficient voltage control capacity’ and concluded that grid operator Red Eléctrica (REE), along with unnamed electricity firms, had ‘inappropriately … [disconnected] their plants’ in an effort to shield their infrastructure.
The report highlighted that REE had reduced its voltage regulation capacity that day, and the energy companies had failed to provide the expected level of voltage control via their power stations.
In response, REE issued its own findings on Wednesday, claiming it ‘carried out the relevant calculations to schedule technical constraints, always ensuring that all groups comply with the obligations imposed by current regulations’.
Concha Sánchez, REE’s operations director, stated during a press briefing: ‘If energy producers responsible for regulating the voltage ‘had met their tension control obligations … we would not have had a blackout.’
On the other hand, Aelec – an industry group that includes leading electricity providers like Iberdrola and Endesa – placed the responsibility for tension management on REE.
‘Controlling tension falls on Red Eléctrica, as the system operator,’ Aelec said in its statement.
The association added, ‘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.’
Furthermore, Aelec claimed that REE ‘had enough resources to guarantee the control of voltage … which it nevertheless decided not to dispatch’, arguing the operator ‘left the system in a situation of vulnerability.’
ALSO READ: Spain’s opposition parties blame PM’s renewable energy policies for blackout.
Click here to read all our reports related to Spain’s blackout.
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🔵Red Eléctrica, como operador del sistema, ha presentado su informe del incidente del 28 de abril en cumplimiento de la normativa vigente (P.O 9).
✅Este análisis complementa el informe que el Gobierno presentó ayer. Se trata de un informe técnico y analítico que cumple con la… pic.twitter.com/6j0gHQZLgT
— Red Eléctrica (@RedElectricaREE) June 18, 2025
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