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A substantial voltage spike that caused a widespread electrical failure across Spanish territory and Portuguese regions has been classified as the "most critical" electrical incident in European nations during the last two decades, and represents a first occurrence of its type, according to a freshly issued investigation.

Damian Cortinas of the association of power network managers announced that this particular situation marked the initial documented electrical disruption to be directly caused by overvoltage, which happens when excessive power voltage accumulates within a system.

"This is new territory," the official stated, noting that the association's function was "not to apportion blame to any entity" regarding the primary source.

The April's power failure caused major chaos for approximately 24 hours when it plunged numerous zones into blackout conditions, terminating digital communications and halting transportation systems.

Widespread Impact

The blackout impacted significant areas of Spain and Portuguese nation, and briefly affected French border regions.

The study, released on Friday, focused on the state of the electrical networks on the date of the outage and the progression of incidents culminating in it.

Systemic Breakdowns

A series of "sequential electrical spikes" - described as an increase in the power system voltage surpassing the established norm - was determined to be the key factor behind the failure, the investigation concluded.

Voltage surge can be triggered by surges in grids due to oversupply or weather events, or when protective equipment are inadequate.

Per the study, computerized safety protocols were triggered but could not prevent the power system from collapsing.

Multiple Investigations

The study succeeds several separate examinations and studies by the Spain's administration, as well as power and grid companies. The regulatory body and parliament members are also performing distinct examinations.

The Madrid administration maintains that the organization's report validates its own findings.

The minister for ecological transition declared that it was "entirely consistent" with the results of an examination it commissioned which ended in June that each of the primary network operator and private electricity companies were at fault.

Diverging Narratives

Both the primary grid operator and the private firms have asserted that they were not to blame. The owning corporation has blamed the outage on specific coal, gas and nuclear power plants' inability to help preserve appropriate voltage.

National energy companies said it was generated by inadequate preparation from grid operators.

Analysis Challenges

The report also noted that specific essential details was missing and that "gathering complete, high-quality data proved extremely difficult for this investigation".

A definitive analysis, to be released in the first quarter of next year, will examine the underlying reasons of the voltage surge and the procedures used to regulate voltage in the network.

Governmental Debate

The failure initiated a wider discussion that spilled into the political arena about Spain's energy model.

The competing parties suggested that an expanding commitment on green electricity, championed by the left-wing government of the national leader, could have been a relevant element in generating the outage and the country's decreasing supply of nuclear energy meant a dependable back-up was unobtainable.

The government categorically denied these hypotheses and the recent study was careful to avoid taking sides when it involved the reasons of the spring's unique outage.

Instant Consequences

The loss of power obliged sports event managers to stop a match midway during the contest.

Spain's nuclear power plants immediately shut down when the outage occurred, and the Spanish oil company stated it stopped production at its petroleum facilities.

Public Chaos

Edifices were thrown into powerless state, while communication tools and intersection indicators ceased functioning. Crowds wound through city blocks and digital purchases malfunctioned, compelling people to wait for currency and crowd into buses as different mobility options were not running.

Rescue personnel were called to 286 buildings to rescue people confined in vertical transport in the Madrid region and medical facilities initiated contingency procedures, stopping standard operations.