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The European panel investigating Spains April blackout has reported a stagnation in progress due to a lack of cooperation from power companies, hampering efforts to identify the causes amid disputes over voltage irregularities and data access. More than a month after a blackout left the Iberian Peninsula in the dark , its cause remains unknown. A power surge is the main hypothesis, but various actors continue to use the event to shape the narrative. The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph have linked the blackout to renewable energy in recent opinion pieces. Danish academic Bjørn Lomborg has also criticized the Spanish government for continuing to invest in solar and wind power despite their unreliability, warning that preventing future blackouts will come at a high cost. Beatriz Corredor, president of Red Eléctrica (REE), stated on the Spanish National Electricity Association (TVE) program La Noche en 24h that there were no problems with short circuits, inertia, computer systems, lack of reserves, or excess voltage. She indicated that the analysis shows that the conventional generation units had voltage controls that did not comply with the parameters established by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). According to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, the president of ENTSO-E—the European network of grid operators and part of the panel of experts investigating the April 28 blackout—sent a letter to the Spanish government and the European Commission requesting assistance in the face of limited cooperation from the major utilities. The letter noted that these companies cited legal confidentiality obligations as a reason for withholding data. La Vanguardia also reported that the investigation must determine whether the system shutdowns were a cause or consequence of the problem. Facilities may be shut down for safety reasons after detecting oscillations, or the oscillations may be the result of sudden shutdowns. Clarifying this requires microsecond-level data, which is only available to plant owners, grid operators, or other system stakeholders. The business daily Cinco Días reported that ENTSO-E informed the third vice president and minister for the ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, that Red Eléctrica recently informed us of the reluctance of third parties to share relevant data, which could lead to potential delays in the panels investigation. Aelec, which represents power companies such as Endesa, Iberdrola, and EDP, has requested to join the commission investigating the blackout . The group also requested that the investigation include the extreme and widespread voltage fluctuations on April 28 and the preceding days, April 22 and 24. Aagesen told the Congress of Deputies in mid-May that these fluctuations were not related to the transmission grid managed by Red Eléctrica and likely originated in generation plants or distribution networks operated by Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy, and EDP. At the Ibero-American business congress in Seville, Corredor stated that there was no failure at Red Eléctrica that caused the blackout and ruled out any claims for compensation at this stage. |
