A report released by Spanish investigators on Tuesday revealed that a power surge caused an hours-long blackout on the Iberian peninsula in late April. The power outage, which lasted for over 10 hours, plunged cities across Spain and Portugal into darkness, cutting off internet and phone connectivity.
According to the report, the problem started with a “voltage surge” in southern Spain, which triggered a chain reaction of small grid failures due to insufficient voltage control capacity. A programming error contributed to this issue, where operators of large gas and nuclear power plants failed to properly cushion the surges on the grid.
Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen stated that the widespread blackout could have been avoided if steps had been taken ahead of time to absorb excess voltage. She also denied speculation that Spain’s reliance on renewable energy was behind the grid failure, stating that the country will not deviate from its energy transition plans.
To address the issue, Spain’s government is planning new measures to strengthen the power grid and improve voltage control. The government aims to integrate the Iberian peninsula more closely with the European grid.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/blackout-in-spain-and-portugal-caused-by-voltage-surge/a-72954699