Spain’s TSO defends itself against blackout blame game

Redeia’s president Beatriz Corredor has defended the actions of the Spanish grid operator during the April blackout “before, during, and after the incident”.

Corredor spoke during a shareholder meeting, where she survived an off-agenda resolution from two minority shareholders, proposing her dismissal.

98% endorsed Corredor as head of the Board, rejecting the proposal.

Said Corredor: “The zero on the Iberian Peninsula on April 28th tested our response capacity, but also demonstrated the indisputable advantage that the TSO model offers for the security and resilience of our electrical system.”

The company’s defensive stance follows a report released mid-June from Spain’s government, pointing the finger at Redeia for miscalculations.

In response, Redeia submitted its own report mid-June, attributing the causes to generation interruptions.

Have you read:
Iberia blackout caused by ‘overvoltage’ and ‘chain reaction’ says Spain
Five flexibility pilot projects get go ahead in Spain

Following the release of Redeia's report, however, Spanish association aelēc, which represents the country’s electric energy companies, reacted by saying they had failed to assume technical responsibilities, contradicting the conclusions of the government.

Corredor, however, alongside CEO Roberto García Merino, during the meeting reiterated their confidence in the work of the system operator's professionals, "before, during, and after the incident”.

According to Reuters reportage, Corredor acknowledged risks to Redeia’s reputation, pledging to defend the company and its workforce against "unfounded, and sometimes very serious, accusations seeking to undermine our reputation".

During the shareholder meeting, Corredor and Merino also cited Royal Decree Law (RDL) 7/2025, approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers, which sets out measures to strengthen the resilience of the power system, such as by boosting electrification, storage and flexibility.

According to the executives, the RDL and its set of urgent measures endorse the TSO’s actions during the incident, in line with the causes identified in Redeia’s report and the recommendations it includes.

Merino also announced the TSO’s goal to reach €1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) in investment for the year, after announcing the company tripled its historical average investment.

Said Merino: "The goal for this year is to reach €1.4 billion, which will allow us to exceed the €4.2 billion ($5 billion) in cumulative investment for the 2021-2025 period, well above initial forecasts.”

In 2023, the TSO’s investment grew by 55%; in 2024, the increase was 34%. So far this year, the investment has increased by 70% compared to the same period last year.