Competition opens disciplinary proceedings following the power outage

BarcelonaA few days before the first anniversary of the electrical blackout on April 28th, new details of its possible causes continue to emerge. This Friday, the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) explained that it has initiated several sanctioning proceedings to determine the circumstances of the blackout. Thus, the regulatory body assures that, as a result of the investigations, "various indications of non-compliance" have been detected, some of which have been maintained for "prolonged periods of time," which could constitute administrative infractions. The CNMC has not revealed against whom these proceedings have been opened, although it considers that they must be "formally investigated".

However, as indicated by the CNMC, "the facts object of these proceedings do not imply, in themselves, the attribution of the origin or cause of the blackout to the affected companies, given that the incident responded to a multifactorial origin." According to the body, the incident took place after a temporal series of events "progressively unbalanced" the system, which ended with an electrical zero due to overvoltage.

As explained by the CNMC in a statement, the proceedings opened as a result of the proceedings will have a maximum duration that will vary between nine and eighteen months, depending on their severity. However, it recalls that the opening of these processes does not prejudge the final result of the investigation and that interested parties may submit allegations.

Various causes

A few weeks ago a study by the European Network of Transmission System Operators also concluded that the disconnection was due to "multiple factors" that are "interconnected", such as "voltage oscillations", "cascading generator disconnections" and "overvoltages". The report, prepared by 45 experts, stated that the blackout occurred in a matter of seconds after a rapid increase in voltage in the Iberian electricity system, which led to a chain disconnection of generation plants, especially renewables. Despite this, they did not link the incident to these energies: "It was not a problem with renewables, but with voltage control".

Also in recent days, within the framework of the investigation commission in the Senate, various transcriptions of audios have emerged that would point to problems in the electricity grid months before the incident. "We have a problem with the voltages, we have a brutal problem, everything is very low. You have to help us," they warned Red Eléctrica from the distribution control center in Seville weeks before the blackout, specifically on April 7, 2025. According to these same transcripts, the situation they were warning about from the Seville control center was not exceptional: "Yes, we are like this all over Spain," they assured from Red Eléctrica.