Spain’s grid operator disputes official claims, blaming plants for blackout

Spain’s grid operator Redeia has countered a government report attributing April 2025’s extensive Iberian Peninsula blackout to its miscalculation of the energy mix, as reported by Reuters.

Redeia insists that conventional power plants failed to maintain proper voltage levels.

Following the release of a government report on 17 June implicating Redeia’s miscalculations as partly responsible for the blackout, the company presented its comprehensive analysis disputing these findings.

The company’s operations chief Concha Sanchez addressed a news briefing on 18 June, stating that their calculations showed sufficient voltage control capabilities were planned.

“Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage, there would have been no blackout,” she emphasised.

Sanchez also revealed anomalies in how power plants disconnected before the 28 April outage, despite voltage in the system being within limits.

A combined-cycle plant crucial for system stability unexpectedly shut down during the initial seconds of the incident, and an unexpected demand spike from transport networks was observed.

Aelec, an industry lobby representing major Spanish electricity companies such as Iberdrola and Endesa, criticised Redeia’s stance.

The industry lobby stated that blaming certain power plants while asserting all actions taken were correct tarnishes the sector’s reputation and highlights a failure in safely managing system needs.

“The operator failed to safely cover all the system’s needs,” the lobby added.

Despite government assertions, Sanchez maintained that system conditions were normal before noon on the day of the blackout and added that another gas plant in the system would not have altered outcomes.

Redeia chair Beatriz Corredor and CEO Roberto Garcia Merino expressed confidence in the operator’s calculations and do not foresee any repercussions or claims against them due to diligent adherence to protocols.