Next April 28 will mark exactly one year to the day that Spain and Portugal faded to black. An unprecedented “zero energy” in the last two decades that left nearly 60 million citizens without electricity, without internet, without traffic lights and with the banking system paralyzed for up to 16 hours. As they reflect in the magazine freenthat day we suddenly discovered that something we take for granted—electricity—is the fragile foundation on which our entire modern life rests.
One year after the event, the initial shock has given way to data. We no longer ask ourselves only if such a blackout can happen again, but how much it is costing us to avoid it and if we have really learned our lesson.
D-day is about to arrive. Twelve months later, we finally have the “official autopsy.” The European Network of Network Operators (ENTSO-E) published a comprehensive report of 472 pages where he concludes that there was no single cause, but rather a “perfect cocktail” of multiple factors. A sudden surge originating in Spain triggered instability that the system was unable to stop.
As we have already explained in Xatakathe failure can be defined as “operational blindness.” The renewable plants operated with a fixed power factor; They did not know how to read the network surge and, for safety reasons, they disconnected suddenly, causing a rebound effect. Besides, as he adds BBClocal generator voltage controls were not fully aligned with operator requirements. The crisis required millisecond reflexes, but tension control was done manually.
In fact, if Europe did not fall like a house of cards, it was due to an almost miraculous technicality: a relay in the Hernani substation (Gipuzkoa) acted like a “fusilazo”, cutting the connection with France in milliseconds to shield the continent. Ironically, just ten minutes later, it was that same interconnection that served as assisted breathing to resuscitate the system.
The big question: what has Spain done differently? The fear of a new blackout has changed the rules of the game, but at a high price for the citizen. Electrical Network has imposed a “reinforced model” of operations. This means that they prioritize safety over cost, keeping more expensive and stable backup plants on, such as gas combined cycles. The result? The Spanish They have been paying an extra cost of 666 million euros In these eleven months only in “adjustment services”, which have shot up 43%.
In the legislative sphere, the Government has approved the Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 to streamline bureaucracy through the “Renewable Acceleration Zones” (ZAR). However, experts warn thatSince there is still no structured capacity market, investing in the necessary storage systems (batteries) continues to be a financial risk for developers.
There’s more shielding going on. The collapse not only left us in the dark, but it left us cut off, although in a very uneven way. While some completely lost the signal, others managed to maintain it thanks to the logistical efforts of some operators. To avoid this coverage lottery, the CNMC has proposed that Telefónica, Vodafone and MásOrange offer a “national roaming” plan in case of emergency. If your operator’s network goes down, your mobile phone would automatically connect to the competition, based on the Swedish model. Added to this is the request to make the alert system (ASA) mandatory in cars with digital radio (DAB+), to send warnings to the population immediately even if the internet is down.
The false culprit and the new energy guzzler. After the collapse, many were quick to blame green energy, but the reality is different. As explained from freenthe problem is not that Spain has a lot of solar and wind energy, but that the electrical grid is still stuck in the 20th century, designed for fossil power plants and not for a decentralized system.
In fact, Spain is a fascinating laboratory. According to EUObserverthe country has managed the recent price crisis caused by the Third Gulf War much better than its European neighbors thanks to its enormous solar shield. However, the trauma of the blackout has caused an absurd side effect: operators are so afraid of overloading the grid that they force solar and wind farms to disconnect more frequently. Curtailment (clean energy generated that is thrown away) has gone from 2% to 7%. And if that were not enough, the saturated network assumes the imminent arrival of a new energy-consuming giant: the massive data centers for Artificial Intelligence.
The exchange of accusations is served. In the offices the short circuit has only just begun. As detailed Financial Times, The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has opened formal investigations. Red Eléctrica (REE) faces proceedings for “very serious” infractions, while giants such as Iberdrola, Naturgy, Endesa and Repsol face possible fines of up to 60 million euros for “serious” infractions. Besides, as accounted Public, up to twenty open sanctioning files. REE defends itself by ensuring that the opening of the file does not prove its guilt.
Meanwhile, a Senate report promoted by the PP directly blames the Government, REE and the CNMC for ignoring known vulnerabilities, according to Reuters. And the tension reaches the limit: electricity companies like Endesa and Iberdrola They have demanded a judge access more than 8,000 calls and emails from REE executives during the hours of the blackout, after the leak of audios where technicians warned of the danger 15 days before.
An electric heart that remains at risk. Spain is “a gold mine without a road”, as defined by Patxi Callejadirector of Iberdrola. We have the sun, the wind and the technical capacity. But the great lesson of this last year is that true energy independence is no longer played at the national level, but at the local level, where factories and homes install their own batteries and hybrid panels so as not to depend on the fragile central system.
We survived the blackout and avoided another one by reaching for our wallets and operating defensively. But as long as the line procedures last a decade, mass storage remains in legal limbo and the big players in the sector fight in court over hidden audios and million-dollar fines, the Spanish network will continue to operate on the brink of a heart attack. The risk of the electric heart stopping again continues to beat in the shadows.
Image | Victor Romero V.
Xataka | Anatomy of a collapse: how a relay in Gipuzkoa saved Europe while the Spanish system died of success
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings