Latest news with #Aelec
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Spain's grid operator blames power plants for blackout, disputes miscalculation
By Pietro Lombardi MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. While agreeing that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage, REE-owner Redeia blamed it on some conventional power plants - thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear - for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage. "Based on our calculation, there were enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout," she said. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, also discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants in the run-up to the April 28 outage, even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, Sanchez said. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said on Wednesday that "claiming everything was done correctly" while blaming some power plants for the blackout was damaging to the sector's reputation. "The operator failed to safely cover all the system's needs," the lobby added. Redeia on Wednesday released its own full report on the causes of the outage, a day after the Spanish government published its findings. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia Chair Beatriz Corredor told the same news briefing she had absolute faith in the company's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules. "Red Electrica didn't breach any procedure and has acted diligently," Chief Executive Roberto Garcia Merino said at the briefing, adding that as a result he did not expect the company to face any claims.
Local Spain
3 days ago
- Business
- Local Spain
Spain's grid operator and private firms blame each other for blackout
The continuing row is likely to extend debate over one of Europe's largest-ever power outages, which raised doubts about Spain's commitment to renewable energy and scheduled phase-out of nuclear power. A grid "overvoltage" triggered a "chain reaction" across mainland Spain and Portugal that downed the system on April 28, according to the government report released on Tuesday. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment and forcing protective systems to shut down parts of the grid. The government said the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" and that Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica (REE) and unnamed energy companies disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". REE had lowered its capacity to regulate tension that day, while electricity companies did not contribute as much as expected to control voltage through their power stations, according to the report. REE published its own report on Wednesday and said it "carried out the relevant calculations to schedule technical constraints, always ensuring that all groups comply with the obligations imposed by current regulations". If energy producers responsible for regulating the voltage "had met their tension control obligations... we would not have had a blackout", REE's operations director Concha Sánchez told a news conference. Aelec, an industry association representing power companies including sector giants Iberdrola and Endesa, said controlling tension "falls on Red Eléctrica, as the system operator". "We have evidence that power stations of Aelec members met the regulatory requirements in terms of controlling tension... even operating above the regulatory obligations to contribute to the stability of the electric system," it said in a statement. REE "had enough resources to guarantee the control of voltage... which it nevertheless decided not to dispatch", added Aelec, saying the operator "left the system in a situation of vulnerability".
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain's grid operator blames power plants for blackout, disputes miscalculation
By Pietro Lombardi MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. REE-owner Redeia's own investigation discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said in a statement on Tuesday it agreed that voltage control was the main cause of the outage, but said that, as system operator, Redeia was ultimately responsible for controlling voltage. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. Corredor said she had absolute faith in Redeia's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Spain's grid operator blames power plants for blackout, disputes miscalculation
A view shows Santa Llogaia electrical sub-station connected to the interconnection grid between France and Spain that tripped after a sudden, large drop in power supply and caused the major blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, in the village of Santa Llogaia d'Alguema, near Figueres, Spain April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas/File Photo MADRID - Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. REE-owner Redeia's own investigation discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said in a statement on Tuesday it agreed that voltage control was the main cause of the outage, but said that, as system operator, Redeia was ultimately responsible for controlling voltage. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. Corredor said she had absolute faith in Redeia's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Miscalculation by Spanish power grid operator REE contributed to massive blackout, report finds
Spanish grid operator REE's failure to calculate the correct mix of energy was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the massive blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, a government investigation concluded. The report, made public on Tuesday, also blames power generators for the worst-ever blackout to have hit Spain and Portugal, since some conventional power plants, such as nuclear and gas-fired plants, failed to help maintain an appropriate voltage level in the power system that day. "The system did not have sufficient voltage control capabilities," Spanish Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told a news briefing in Madrid. "Either because they were not sufficiently programmed, or because those that were programmed did not adequately provide what was required by the standard, or a combination of both," she said. While several factors played a role that day, Aagesen confirmed that the ultimate cause was a surge in voltage that the grid was unable to absorb. It triggered a cascade of disconnections of generation. Voltage surges can be caused by multiple factors ranging from lightning strikes, faulty equipment, or grid instability. The probe pointed to grid instability earlier that morning. REE, which is partly state-owned, did not have enough thermal power stations switched on when the voltage surge caused a chain reaction leading to the power outage, Aagesen said. REE "told us that they made their calculations and estimated that (switching on more thermal plants) was not necessary at this time. They only set it for the early hours of the day, not the central hours." The blackout caused massive gridlock in cities and left thousands stranded on trains and in elevators across the Iberian peninsula. Power plants "should have controlled voltage and, moreover, many of them were economically remunerated to do so. They did not absorb all the reactive power that was expected," Aagesen said. Utilities lobby Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said in a statement it agreed that voltage control was the main cause of the outage, adding that "the responsibility for ensuring such control lies with" REE as system operator. It has evidence that the power plants controlled by the companies it represents "have complied with the regulatory requirements regarding voltage control" even "operating above the regulatory obligations" to help stabilise grid. Despite having sufficient resources to guarantee voltage control, REE "opted to manage voltage with limited synchronous capacity and an unbalanced geographical distribution, which left the system in a vulnerable situation," it said. REE did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Its chairman will hold a press conference on Wednesday. The government said on Tuesday it would propose measures to strengthen the grid and improve its ability to control voltage in the system. It would also push to further integrate the peninsula with the European grid, it said. Pratheeksha Ramdas, Senior New Energies Analyst and Iberia power market expert at Rystad Energy said the incident highlighted the essential role thermal power plants, especially gas-fired plants continued to play. "It appears that the blackout reflects a critical failure in the Spanish electricity system not due to lack of installed capacity but due to mismanagement of available energy resources and accountability in grid operations," Ramdas said.
