ABB ELDS RESPONDS TO IBERIA BLACKOUT FINDINGS:
20/06/2025 ABB Limited (Zurich)
Following this week’s publication of Spain’s official investigation into the April 28 blackout, Adrian Guggisberg, Division President – Electrical Distribution Solutions at ABB Electrification, has warned that grid resilience must now be treated as an economic imperative – not just a technical upgrade.
Adrian Guggisberg, Division President – Electrical Distribution Solutions at ABB Electrification, comments:
“Today's critical infrastructure needs a reliable, stable energy supply – yet grids are being pushed to their limits. The rise of decentralised energy sources, electrification of industry and transport, and digitalisation of everything from buildings to mobility are placing unprecedented demands on ageing electrical systems. Managing this variability while maintaining reliability and protection is a major engineering challenge of our time.
“Meeting these challenges takes more than upgrades. It requires a smarter, more connected approach to electrical infrastructure. This includes everything from substations and feeders to automation systems, protection devices, and yes, medium-voltage switchgear – which plays a key role in controlling power flows and isolating faults.
“True grid resilience isn’t about one technology. It’s about a system that can adapt, isolate faults quickly, recover autonomously, and support real-time decision-making. Upgrading the grid is not just a technical challenge; it’s an economic imperative.”
Spain’s Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, presented the blackout findings at a press conference on Tuesday, noting that an abnormal over-voltage event was followed by a failure to contain the disturbance – due in part to insufficient dynamic voltage control and the loss of multiple generators from the grid. The cascading faults left large parts of Spain and Portugal without electricity for more than ten hours.
The full report cites inadequate reactive power reserves and a lack of fast-acting fault isolation as key technical shortcomings in the incident.
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ABB Limited (Zurich)
ABB Industrial Automation
Affolternstrasse 44
Zurich
8050
Switzerland
Tel: +65 (0)6773 5857
Web: https://www.abb.com
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