The Spanish government released a report on June 17th stating that the widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal on April 28th were caused by a surge in voltage, but the chain reaction was triggered by the failure of relevant operators such as the power grid and power plants to effectively respond.
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Ecological Transition, Sarah Agason, said at a press conference that the fundamental reason for the power outage was the sudden surge in voltage, also known as voltage surge. However, the voltage control capability of the Spanish power system is insufficient due to inadequate planning and inadequate response. Due to misjudgment, the surge in voltage was not absorbed in a timely manner, triggering a series of "uncontrollable chain reactions".
Voltage surges can be caused by various factors, such as lightning strikes, equipment failures, and unstable power grids. There are usually two measures to deal with it: one is to disconnect the equipment from the disturbed circuit, and the other is to provide a discharge channel for surge voltage.
According to an investigation by the Spanish government, on the morning of April 28th, the power grid was unstable, resulting in a voltage surge. On the one hand, the Spanish power grid company should have activated enough thermal power plants at the beginning of the surge induced chain reaction to help balance voltage fluctuations. But the company had poor planning and after a thorough calculation, it was deemed unnecessary at the time.
On the other hand, some power plants immediately take preventive measures to shut down in case of emergencies, disconnecting from the grid, but they should actually remain "online" to absorb excessive voltage.
Shortly after noon on April 28th, Spain began a widespread power outage. According to the Spanish Ministry of Energy, the power supply of the grid decreased by about 60% within 5 seconds, reaching 15 gigawatts. Portugal, which is connected to the Spanish power grid, also experienced widespread power outages. The transportation between the two countries is paralyzed, communication is interrupted, and people's lives are in chaos. The power supply was basically restored the next day. This is one of the most severe power outages in Europe in recent years.
Agson believes that theoretically, the Spanish power grid is strong enough to handle this situation, but the entire system lacks coordination and transparency, and division of labor is unclear. The government believes that it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of power operators and the construction of the power grid in the future.
