It seems like yesterday when the energy blackout left Spain and Portugal without electricity supply for several hours. The system's restoration after the blackout was progressive, reaching approximately half of the supply that same night and practically all of it the following morning, according to information gathered in official reports.
Subsequent investigations agree that the blackout did not have a single identifiable cause, but rather responded to a combination of technical factors that were triggered in a chain.
Surges, fluctuations, and disconnections under study
The report of the governmental committee points out that the origin of the blackout is linked to overvoltages and oscillations in the electrical grid, which led to successive disconnections of generation. This sequence would have caused the collapse of the system.
The Government has pointed to aspects of the system's operation as well as the interaction between operators and generating companies, without assigning a single, closed responsibility at this stage of the investigation.
The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has opened sanctioning proceedings within the framework of its investigation into the blackout and has subsequently expanded the number of actions against different companies in the electricity sector and the system operator.
The regulatory body maintains that the analysis remains open and that the files do not yet imply a final determination of responsibilities, while the functioning of the system at the time of the collapse is being reviewed.
Conflicting versions between operator and electricity companies
Red Eléctrica de España has defended in its reports that it acted in accordance with established procedures and that it activated the system restoration mechanisms during the incident. The operator maintains that its actions complied with safety protocols.
For their part, the main electricity companies have stated in parliament that there were prior signs of instability in the network and have questioned the management of the system in the hours before the blackout. Red Eléctrica maintains its position of operational compliance.
12 months after the blackout, official investigations have not established a single definitive cause nor have they closed the attribution of responsibilities. The available reports agree on a diagnosis of systemic failure with multiple technical and operational factors.
The CNMC keeps open files, the Government has identified combined causes in the network and the operators and companies involved maintain different interpretations about the origin of the collapse.
The result, one year later, is a scenario still under review, where the blackout continues without a single, closed explanation or a definitive resolution of the set of open investigations.