Endesa and Iberdrola again point the finger at Red Eléctrica for the blackout

MadridThe responsibility for the massive blackout of April 28th of last year remains unclear, but the major electricity companies have consistently pointed the finger at the Spanish electricity system operator, Red Eléctrica, and they reiterated this point on Thursday. During their appearance before the Senate committee investigating the events, the CEOs of Endesa and Iberdrola, José Bogas and Mario Ruiz-Tagle, respectively, again identified the system operator as solely responsible for the blackout that left the entire Iberian Peninsula without power. "It did not act with sufficient agility in forecasting, scheduling, or correcting the errors," stated Bogas of Endesa. Ruiz-Tagle, the Iberdrola executive, ruled out a "multifactorial" cause for the blackout and pointed to a "single" reason: "A planning error in the elements for controlling the voltage," he said, implicitly referring to Red Eléctrica (REE).

The fact is that the crossfire between companies and the electricity system operator has been constant since the incident. Red Eléctrica, in fact, has pointed the finger at the electricity companies for not acting correctly. For its part, the Spanish government, which has also presented its own report, also pointed the finger at Red Eléctrica, in which the State holds a 20% stake, as well as the electricity companies themselves.

Defense of management

Both executives used the hearing to defend their actions. Endesa asserted that its power plants complied "rigorously" with safety regulations. Iberdrola, which publicly acknowledged owning one of the photovoltaic plants in question, also denied any wrongdoing. "It was not the result of mismanagement, poor operation, or an error [at the Núñez de Balboa plant, one of the largest photovoltaic plants in Europe, located in Badajoz]," stated the Iberdrola executive. However, the companies estimate the cost of the enhanced operation that Red Eléctrica has been under since the massive blackout of April last year at around 1.1 billion euros.