The association of electricity companies, Aelec, has published findings regarding the significant blackout that occurred on the twenty-eighth of April. According to Aelec, the principal cause was a severe failure in tension control, exacerbated by Red Eléctrica’s lack of adequate programming and failure to deploy available resources effectively. Marta Castro, Aelec’s regulation director, stated that noticeable fluctuations in tension were already present prior to the blackout.

The findings come after a government report attributed the incident to multifactorial issues related to voltage surges. An independent analysis conducted by experts from Inesctec and Compass Lexecon, which took into account information from Aelec’s members, highlighted that control of tension was poorly distributed, particularly in southern areas where disconnections first occurred. Experts also noted a significant increase in voltage surges from twenty twenty-one to twenty twenty-three.

Antón García, one of the analysts, pointed out that prior warnings related to insufficient control in the network were ignored. Aelec claimed that the technical programme on the eve of the blackout was the lowest of the year, which significantly contributed to the situation.

Furthermore, the report raised concerns about Red Eléctrica’s decisions during the incident. Specifically, it questioned the appropriateness of their strategy to connect a new power plant at a critical moment, which ultimately failed to prevent the blackout. Aelec contradicted the government’s view on the disconnections that occurred, asserting they were carried out correctly despite the government’s assertions otherwise.