- Sara Aagesen confirmed that power losses in Granada, Badajoz, and Seville triggered the April 28 blackout across Spain and Portugal, causing a 2.2 GW drop in generation.
- Investigators have ruled out cyberattacks and grid imbalances while the government defended its renewable energy strategy.
Spain’s Energy Minister, Sara Aagesen, confirmed on Wednesday, May 14, that a sudden loss of power generation at a substation in Granada, followed moments later by similar failures in Badajoz and Seville, triggered the massive blackout that swept across Spain and Portugal on April 28.
The government has identified specific locations at the root of the disruption for the first time since the outage. Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told lawmakers that the three events, still under investigation, led to the loss of 2.2 gigawatts of generation capacity, which set off a cascade of grid disconnections across the Iberian Peninsula.
“We are analysing millions of pieces of data. We also continue to make progress in identifying where these generation losses occurred, and we already know that they started in Granada, Badajoz and Seville,” Aagesen said.
She noted that the cause of the initial failures remains unclear and warned that investigators may not find a single explanation for what appears to be a complex system breakdown.
Multiple investigations involve government agencies, security services, and technical experts. Aagesen confirmed that no cyberattack, supply-demand imbalance, or grid capacity shortage was responsible for the outage.
However, she acknowledged that excessive voltage is being examined as a potential trigger and that operators had flagged grid volatility in the days before the incident.
The blackout has prompted renewed scrutiny of Spain’s energy mix, particularly the growing share of renewables and the country’s plan to phase out nuclear power by 2035. Critics argue that the transition may have reduced grid stability due to a decline in so-called “grid inertia” from conventional energy sources like nuclear and fossil fuels.
Aagesen defended the government’s approach, stressing that renewable energy has cut consumer costs and boosted energy autonomy amid global instability.
“A mix with more renewables reduces external risks. It enables us to anticipate, adapt to, and respond quickly to any eventuality,” Sara said.
The Minister also left the door open to extending the life of nuclear power plants, but only if safety standards are in place, prices remain fair for consumers, and the extension demonstrably enhances the security of supply.
Sara Aagesen added that Spain’s grid continues to operate with the same level of renewables as before the blackout, emphasising that the energy transition remains a cornerstone of the government’s long-term strategy.