Background:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_European_power_outage
Which events contributed to the blackout? What will official investigators conclude? Based on credible media reports.
Update 2025-06-19 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): The creator will use the TSO's report as the primary source for resolution. Based on this report, they intend to resolve the following answers as:
human error: NO
technical failure: YES
unforeseen system dynamics: YES
1,000🏅 Top traders
| # | Name | Total profit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ṁ101 | |
| 2 | Ṁ48 | |
| 3 | Ṁ18 | |
| 4 | Ṁ16 | |
| 5 | Ṁ15 |
People are also trading
You can download the TSO's report here, it's quite accessible and 18 pages long:
https://www.ree.es/en/operation
The report lists 18 events that individually would all have been fine, but combined were too much for the system to handle.
We know that some generators in Badajoz and elsewhere tripped "inappropriately", meaning within a voltage corridor they should have been able to handle.
Other generators disconnected because they lacked data.
The report makes no mention of any specific human error.
I intend to resolve "human error" as NO, "technical failure" as YES, and "unforeseen system dynamics" as YES, since the system did not work as designed.
Please state your objections in a reply to this comment, I'll give it a few days :)
@LudwigBald There's an argument for human error, since REE operators made a mistake by not calling for more backup plants to the system despite having foreseen the need for them that day. But your description says this market is about the official conclusion, so I agree with "human error" as NO.
@LudwigBald The reason for the 0.6Hz oszillation in Badajoz is still under investigation. Nevertheless I agree with your proposed resolution (and make a note to myself "read primary sources more often").
@LudwigBald Seems they finished their report: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/stromausfall-spanien-portugal-ueberspannung-energieversorgung-li.3270728
"Unsachgemäß verhalten" reads like human error to me.
@Primer google translation:
A good seven weeks after the historic power outage on the Iberian Peninsula, an investigation report into the causes has been presented. The hours-long blackout on April 28 in Spain and Portugal was caused by excessive voltage in the grid, said Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Sara Aagesen in Madrid. This triggered a chain reaction of protective shutdowns. There is no evidence of a cyberattack.
The surge in the Spanish power grid was caused by several factors. First, the grid operator, Red Eléctrica, failed to plan its electricity production with the "necessary caution." It had too few power plants connected to the grid to compensate for voltage fluctuations. Additional capacity was only planned for the early morning hours, but not for the central hours of the day.
Secondly, the operators of conventional power plants, i.e., combined-cycle power plants, nuclear power plants, and hydroelectric power plants, also "behaved improperly," Aagesen said. They did not absorb sufficient overvoltage from the grid, and other power plants disconnected from the grid due to the overvoltage, even though they were not allowed to do so according to the system specifications. Why Red Eléctrica planned too carelessly and power plant operators behaved incorrectly remained unclear at first. Aagesen only hinted at a lack of coordination, unclear responsibilities, and a lack of transparency in the overall system.