The specter of the great blackout has returned: the Spanish electrical system has voltage problems. Serious problems, indeed. So serious that Red Eléctrica has had to request authorization to take action on the matter.
It goes without saying, but uncertainty spread like wildfire. Six months after the great blackout, Spain is experiencing a small ‘déjà vu’. Are there reasons to be alert?
What has happened? Red Eléctrica has just notified the CNMC that, for a couple of weeks, it has observed sudden voltage variations in the peninsular system. As he explained, this could compromise the security of supply and urgent measures would need to be taken to solve it.
That includes temporarily modifying various operating procedures to stabilize the system while underlying problems are found.
What do these modifications consist of? The proposals range from allowing technical adjustments to be applied directly during daily programming to giving the operator more room to act quickly if it detects a risk of instability, even before the operating day begins. In addition, it adopts stricter control of the automatic instantaneous balance mechanism and tightens the reactive voltage control.
In summary, what has been notified is an express adjustment of the country’s electrical operations to contain the ups and downs in voltage that have been recorded. And all of this, to be implemented in five days.
The big question is “now?” Because as Javier Blas pointed out, “for months, the Spanish electricity grid operator (and the government) have been postponing the country’s electrical problems” and now, suddenly, a whole series of urgent measures are required.
Red Eléctrica’s response. Given the concern generated by the request, the operator has had to come forward by clarifying that there has been “no talk of a risk of an imminent or widespread blackout”, that the voltage variations “have not posed a supply risk because they have been within the admissible limits.”
However, the truth is that no one is too calm. As Blas said, “The urgent request adds up to a billion-dollar additional cost for Spanish customers, as the grid operator is operating the system in what it calls a “reinforced mode” since April 29 (in effect, operating gas-fired power plants more intensely and reducing solar and wind power).”
If under these conditions the entire series of measures that have been requested are needed, there is some underlying problem. Or, at least, that’s what it seems: that the symptoms of stress in the system are clear and it is not at all clear that a handful of temporary measures are the solution we need.
Image | Anton Dmitriev
In WorldOfSoftware | Harvest wheat or kilowatts? The new account that many farmers in Spain make
