Competition concludes that the major blackout of April 28 could have been avoided

The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has stated in its report that the massive blackout of April 28th of last year, which left the Iberian Peninsula in darkness for hours, could have been avoided. There were "legislative and regulatory tools available, as well as mechanisms to guarantee supplyThe supervisory body notes, although it considers it necessary to address improvements in the electricity system "to respond to the current needs of the system and provide it with greater robustness." The report does not point fingers at those responsible for the blackout and includes some improvements that could be introduced to improve the system's operation and prevent new incidents. Almost eleven months after the peninsular blackout, the regulator has published its advisory report, issued "without prejudice to any other actions that may be appropriate within the framework of the ongoing investigation into the incident." The report, prepared by a panel of European experts from ENTSO-E (the European regulators of electricity networks), proposes recommendations to strengthen the efficiency and resilience of the Spanish electricity system, based on the conclusions drawn from the incident investigation. The system is undergoing a transformation characterized by a high penetration of renewable generation, greater operational complexity, and increasing voltage volatility.

The agency emphasizes that the information gathered through specific requests and meetings held with the sector in working groups "has allowed for a deeper diagnosis of the current state of the electricity system and the measures needed to address it." As areas for improvement to meet the system's current needs and make it more robust, the CNMC sees a need to implement measures that "mitigate sudden changes in voltage"and also analyze the evolution of the other system parameters from the point of view of the impact they have on voltage variations."

To this end, it aims to define acceptable volatility with more sophisticated voltage metrics and requests that technical quality criteria also be considered.

Furthermore, the CNMC, which calls for strengthened coordination between network operators and network visibility, points to the complexity associated with evacuation infrastructures shared by several producers, which require a precise delimitation of responsibilities to ensure efficient operation. The regulator also advances the temporality of overvoltages, guaranteeing adequate safety margins. Likewise, the CNMC considers it advisable to strengthen the periodic inspection programs of protection systems and verify the operation of the installations after initial certification. The report also highlights the lack of resilience in this aspect. Regarding the railway network, the Competition Authority points out that the power outage demonstrated its almost total dependence on the supply. Although the electrical protection and safety systems functioned correctly, the system did what it is programmed to do: "safely shut down in the event of an electrical failure." The Ministry of Economy, headed by Sara Aagesen, has positively assessed the CNMC report and considered it to be "aligned" with the findings of the report presented by the Spanish government's analysis committee in June of last year. The Ministry thanked the regulator for its multi-sectoral analysis of the incident, as well as the CNMC's recommendations, such as increased monitoring and control.