The recent massive blackout in Peninsular Spain has exposed the fragility of the electrical system, in a context where renewable energies have an increasingly predominant role. This event was preceded by various warning signs, including minor electrical failures in government sectors and a report from the Electric Grid that questioned future supply due to the closure of combined-cycle power plants. A week before the blackout, an electrical fault paralyzed rail traffic between Pajares and Chamartín for hours. Oscar Puente, Minister of Transport, attributed this incident to an overvoltage on the grid, which caused the substations' protections to activate, disconnecting the system for safety.
Simultaneously, other electrical failures affected key sectors, such as the Ministry of Health, which reported problems at its Data Processing Center, interrupting essential medical services. Also, Repsol had to halt activities at its Cartagena refinery due to power-supply problems. Despite these events, the Director of Operations at Red Eléctrica, Eduardo Prieto, stated that no preventive measures will be adopted until definitive conclusions about the blackout are reached. Meanwhile, warnings about voltage stability continue, in an environment where the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has expressed concerns about the high penetration of renewable energy and the lack of inertia in the electrical system.
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