🔗 Share this article

A significant power surge that resulted in a widespread power outage across Spain and Portugal has been recognized as the "most severe" power disruption in Europe during the past 20 years, and represents a first situation of its kind, according to a recently published report.

Damian Cortinas of the organization of power network managers stated that this specific event marked the first known power failure to be primarily triggered by excessive voltage, which develops when excessive power voltage gathers within a network.

"This is uncharted waters," the official stated, adding that the association's purpose was "not to assign responsibility to any entity" regarding the root origin.

The April's blackout caused substantial chaos for nearly a day when it plunged various regions into darkness, cutting internet and telephone connections and stopping travel networks.

Extensive Consequences

The power outage influenced extensive regions of the Spanish territory and Portuguese nation, and temporarily impacted southern French territories.

The study, published on Friday, concentrated on the status of the electrical networks on the date of the blackout and the sequence of developments culminating in it.

Systemic Breakdowns

A sequence of "sequential electrical spikes" - described as an rise in the power system voltage exceeding the standard level - was found to be the main reason behind the outage, the investigation determined.

Overvoltage can be caused by surges in systems due to surplus generation or lightning strikes, or when safety systems are deficient.

Per the study, computerized safety protocols were activated but failed to halt the energy grid from shutting down.

Several Inquiries

The report follows several separate examinations and studies by the Spain's administration, as well as power and grid companies. The oversight organization and parliament members are also conducting separate investigations.

The Spanish government considers that the organization's findings validates its own findings.

Sara Aagesen for ecological transition commented that it was "entirely consistent" with the findings of an inquiry it ordered which concluded in summer that both the main system manager and commercial energy firms were culpable.

Contrasting Perspectives

Each of the main network manager and the commercial companies have insisted that they were not at fault. The controlling entity has blamed the outage on certain traditional generation stations' shortcoming to help preserve proper electrical levels.

National energy companies stated it was caused by poor planning from system controllers.

Investigation Difficulties

The investigation also noted that specific essential details was missing and that "acquiring complete, high-quality data proved extremely difficult for this examination".

A definitive analysis, to be released in the beginning period of next year, will examine the fundamental sources of the voltage surge and the procedures used to manage power parameters in the network.

Political Controversy

The failure initiated a broader debate that spilled into the governmental sphere about the country's power strategy.

The opposition indicated that an expanding commitment on sustainable power, advocated by the ruling coalition of the national leader, could have been a contributing factor in triggering the outage and the nation's reducing availability of nuclear electricity meant a dependable back-up was inaccessible.

The government categorically denied these hypotheses and the recent study was prudent to remain neutral when it concerned the causes of April's unprecedented blackout.

Instant Effects

The power disruption obliged sports event organizers to halt a competition half way through the event.

Spain's nuclear power plants immediately shut down when the failure struck, and the Spanish oil company announced it suspended activities at its oil refineries.

Civil Disorder

Structures were cast into blackout, while mobile phones and road signals failed to operate. Lines wound through street corners and electronic transactions stopped working, forcing people to line up for money and crowd into public transportation as other transport systems were non-functional.

First responders were called to 286 buildings to extricate people confined in vertical transport in the Madrid region and medical facilities initiated contingency procedures, halting standard operations.