"We have a problem with the tension": New audios suggest the system was failing before the power outage

MadridWhen less than a month remains until the first anniversary of the massive power outage that left the Iberian Peninsula without electricity for hours, more recordings of communications between Red Eléctrica, the Spanish electricity system operator, and some companies are emerging, which confirm that months before the incident there were already problems in the electricity grid. At the same time, the conversations highlight the instability of the system. All this is inferred from the transcriptions of the audios (to which ARA has had access) that Popular Party senators have requested within the framework of the investigation commission in the Senate – where the PP has an absolute majority – which is investigating that incident. This commission, in fact, has been marked by tension between the popular senators and some witnesses, as was the case of the president of Red Eléctrica, Beatriz Corredor.

"We have a problem with voltages, we have a brutal problem, everything is very low. You have to help us," they warned Red Eléctrica from the Seville distribution control center on April 7, 2025, that is, weeks before the incident. Voltage and its inability to be controlled is one of the key elements of the events of April 28th, and for which no culprits have yet been determined. But according to the transcriptions of the audios, the situation they were warning about from the Seville control center was not exceptional: "Yes, we are like this all over Spain, eh," they assured from Red Eléctrica.

But much earlier, the system was already showing warning signs, as can be deduced from a conversation between the Barcelona distribution center and Red Eléctrica on January 31, 2025. The Spanish electricity system operator acknowledges in the call that in Esplugues the voltage had dropped sharply: "It was a very big oscillation, so... I don't know, I imagine they will analyze everything with the companies and see what happens." From Barcelona, they also warned about the problems detected at the Ascó nuclear power plant and, in fact, they admit that they were "on the verge" of seeing a unit disconnect.

Of the events of April 28, no clear culprit has yet emerged. The final report from European experts, the last to be made public, concluded that multiple factors were hidden behind that unprecedented incident and that the errors were made by the electricity companies, the large generation plants, the renewables that were improperly disconnected, and Red Eléctrica. However, inadequate legislation is also added to all of this, the experts have indicated.