Shutdown: an unprecedented incident with late punishment
On April 28th last year, almost a year ago, traffic lights, televisions, internet... stopped working, and many rediscovered radio transistors and candles. An unusual and unprecedented event. A country in darkness in the 21st century. It gives the impression that, in many cases, almost twelve months after such an unprecedented event, the political battle and the rush to accuse each other have taken precedence over the interest in clarifying what circumstances caused the great blackout.
it includes it under the definition of a very serious infringement in the electricity sector lawincludes it under the definition of a very serious infringement in the electricity sector law.
In contrast, in the other 19 proceedings against generating plants of Endesa, Iberdrola (which includes as participants the association of the Ascó and Vandellós nuclear power plants), Naturgy, Repsol, and even the Basque government –as a shareholder of Bahía de Bizcaia Electricidad through the Basque Energy Agency (EVE)–, the irregularities being investigated were "without risk to the guarantee of supply or serious damage".
A study by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity concluded a few weeks ago that the blackout was due to "multiple factors" that are "interconnected". 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. But it avoided blaming green energies, a route that some tried to exploit in favor of nuclear power.
It is precisely the "multifactorial" origin of the blackout that has made the responsibility for the disconnection unclear in terms of determining accountability. Large companies such as Iberdrola or Endesa have insisted on many occasions on blaming Red Eléctrica (REE). In contrast, REE points more towards the electricity companies. The truth is that the European report indicated that the errors were made by the electricity companies, the large generation plants, the renewables that were improperly disconnected, and the operator of the Spanish electricity system (Red Eléctrica). In other words, all the parties involved in the process of delivering electricity to families and businesses every day. Now the CNMC is highlighting the issues, but it will take time to reach a final conclusion.
In any case, many explanations are still pending. Taking into account that in the investigation commission in the Senate, audio transcripts have appeared that seem to point to problems in the electricity grid months before the incident, a serious investigation is needed. On the one hand, to determine if some parties have more responsibility than others. And, on the other hand, to learn and prevent an incident of this magnitude from happening again.