Spain's power grid operator REE defends planning ahead of blackout
17/02/2026 12:46
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Spanish power grid operator REE defended on Tuesday its planning regarding last year's widespread blackout and described the testimony of energy company executives before a senate committee hearing as "mere conjectures". Europe's most significant blackout in more than two decades paralysed cities and left people stranded on trains across Portugal and Spain on April 28 last year. REE, which is owned by Redeia REDE.MC, correctly operated the system in strict compliance with existing regulations, the grid operator said in a press release on Tuesday. "Any conclusions drawn from the events of April 28 cannot be based on mere conjecture or general statements, such as those made at the last session of the (senate) committee," it said. During last week's hearing, Iberdrola IBE.MC Spain CEO Mario Ruiz-Tagle denied that mismanagement at a solar plant owned by the utility could have contributed to the outage, after Redeia chairperson Beatriz Corredor had told the same committee that this had made the power system more vulnerable. The chief executive of Endesa, Jose Bogas, told the same committee that the utility's power plants complied with rules and did not disconnect improperly that day, blaming the blackout on REE's energy mix planning. (Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga in Gdansk; Editing by David Latona) ((Javier.West@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 61 12;))