Cause of the Power Outage That Paralyzed the Iberian Peninsula

The massive blackout that affected 60 million people in April was caused by a series of “successive overvoltages”—a condition where the power supply voltage rises above the established norm, according to the preliminary investigation.

The outage plunged parts of Spain, Portugal, and southern France into darkness, disrupting internet and phone networks and halting transportation for nearly a full day.

Buildings went dark, mobile phones and traffic lights stopped working, and long queues formed on street corners as card payments failed. People lined up to withdraw cash, crowded onto buses when other transport systems stopped, and trains came to a halt in open fields, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. Subway riders were forced to walk through dark tunnels for hundreds of meters to reach the exits.

The report stated that although automatic defense mechanisms were activated, they failed to prevent the shutdown of the power grid.

Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, said that the investigation launched in June found both the national grid operator Red Eléctrica and private power companies at fault.

Spanish energy companies, however, blamed the incident on poor planning by grid operators.

A final report to be completed in the coming months will examine the root causes of the overvoltage and evaluate the measures taken to control the grid’s stability.

Source: BBC News