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A significant power surge that caused a widespread power outage across Spanish territory and Portuguese regions has been classified as the "most serious" electrical incident in Europe during the last two decades, and represents a first occurrence of its kind, according to a newly released study.

The president of the organization of electricity grid operators announced that this notable event marked the initial documented blackout to be primarily triggered by overvoltage, which develops when too much electrical voltage builds up within a network.

"This is unprecedented ground," Cortinas commented, explaining that the association's role was "not to apportion blame to any entity" regarding the root origin.

The spring's blackout caused significant interruption for almost one full day when it plunged numerous zones into darkness, disrupting digital communications and halting transportation systems.

Widespread Consequences

The power outage impacted extensive regions of Spain and Portugal, and briefly affected southern French territories.

The report, released on the weekend, concentrated on the condition of the energy infrastructure on the date of the outage and the progression of events leading up to it.

Systemic Malfunctions

A cascade of "sequential electrical spikes" - defined as an elevation in the network electrical pressure surpassing the established norm - was found to be the main reason behind the failure, the report concluded.

Voltage surge can be generated by spikes in grids due to excess production or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment are insufficient.

Based on the report, automated protection systems were initiated but failed to halt the energy grid from collapsing.

Various Inquiries

The study follows several separate examinations and analyses by the Madrid authorities, as well as energy corporations. The oversight organization and Spanish lawmakers are also performing separate investigations.

The Madrid administration believes that the organization's report corroborates its own findings.

The minister for environmental policy commented that it was "entirely consistent" with the results of an examination it commissioned which wrapped up in summer that each of the main system manager and private electricity companies were culpable.

Contrasting Perspectives

Each of the main network manager and the independent corporations have insisted that they were not responsible. The controlling entity has assigned responsibility for the outage on certain conventional energy facilities' failure to help preserve correct power parameters.

National energy companies claimed it was caused by deficient strategy from grid operators.

Examination Difficulties

The investigation also highlighted that certain crucial information was absent and that "collecting thorough, reliable details proved extremely difficult for this inquiry".

A final report, to be published in the first quarter of the coming year, will investigate the underlying reasons of the overvoltage and the measures employed to control voltage in the system.

Political Debate

The blackout triggered a broader debate that entered the administrative domain about Spain's energy model.

The competing parties suggested that an increasingly heavy reliance on green electricity, championed by the current administration of the national leader, could have been a relevant element in causing the failure and the country's decreasing supply of nuclear energy meant a dependable back-up was not available.

The administration completely dismissed these hypotheses and the recent study was careful to stay impartial when it involved the sources of the spring's unique outage.

Direct Impacts

The loss of power compelled Madrid Open Tennis organizers to stop a competition midway during the contest.

The country's nuclear stations immediately shut down when the failure hit, and the national petroleum corporation reported it stopped production at its oil refineries.

Social Disorder

Edifices were thrown into powerless state, while cellular devices and traffic lights failed to operate. Crowds wound through city blocks and electronic transactions malfunctioned, compelling people to line up for money and cram on to buses as different mobility options were inoperative.

First responders were summoned to 286 buildings to rescue people stuck in lifts in the central territory and healthcare centers activated crisis protocols, stopping normal activities.