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Is Spain headed for another blackout? Red Eléctrica warns it's very possible
The experts believe Spain is at risk of another massive power failure if measures aren’t taken
In a bit of an unexpected turnaround, Red Eléctrica, the company that spent months reassuring everyone that Spain wouldn't face another blackout after the chaos of April 28, is now warning that a second mass power outage is all too possible.
Following the spring blackout that resulted in a countrywide electricity outage, the company implemented new measures, tightened up protocols and everything was supposedly under control.
Well, not quite. The state-owned operator has now admitted there's a genuine risk of another nationwide power failure unless urgent changes are made to how the grid is managed.
In a letter sent to the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) this week, Red Eléctrica dropped something of a bombshell. The company "reported in its letter the observation over the last two weeks of sudden voltage fluctuations in the Spanish peninsular electricity system, such that they could impact the security of supply if the proposed changes are not implemented."
The document was made public on Wednesday October 8 and it makes for uncomfortable reading.
Red Eléctrica Chairperson Beatriz Corredor is now pushing for emergency modifications to four separate electrical system management protocols, including Operating Procedure 3.2: Technical Restrictions.
Essentially, this would give the system operator more power to react quickly to voltage fluctuations by firing up thermal generators or adjusting generation when power reserves are running low. The goal is "mitigating" these "sudden voltage variations observed," with Red Eléctrica pointing the finger firmly at renewables.
"The operator links these variations to sudden system changes, particularly in renewable generation, as well as to the response time of the generation provider for dynamic voltage control," the CNMC explained in its statement.
This is a pretty significant about-face from Red Eléctrica's previous stance. In their official report on April's blackout, renewables "were not the problem." That position was backed up last week by European operators in their own investigation.
Entso-e researchers concluded that the April 28 blackout was the most serious incident in two decades and the first of its kind globally.
Their findings pointed to a voltage surge that knocked out several generating plants in the southwest of the Peninsula, triggering a "cascade of generation losses" that the system operator couldn't contain.
Within minutes, virtually all of Spain and Portugal lost power. The experts dismissed suggestions that there'd been too much renewable energy in the system and instead blamed a "voltage imbalance."
Now, Red Eléctrica's frantic request to the CNMC suggests their existing protocols simply weren't up to the job of managing these technologies and keeping the grid stable.
There's another sting in the tail, too. In the letter to the Competition Authority, Red Eléctrica admitted that the proposed reinforcement measures will push electricity bills higher, as they "could have a significant impact on balancing, restrictions and voltage control services."
Tightening service conditions might lead to "a reduction in supply and, therefore, in market competitiveness" or "an increase in the cost borne by demand."
Government sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition said that, after being briefed by Red Eléctrica, they've instructed the operator to do its job properly and told the CNMC to beef up supervision to ensure all parties meet their obligations.
They stressed that these temporary measures are needed "while the new procedure that will allow all technologies to provide voltage control is fully deployed."
In other words, Spain's power grid remains on shaky ground and consumers might well end up footing the bill to fix it.
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