Blackout blame game: Spain targets energy firms as Portugal’s EDP pushes back

Published on 05/05/2026 - 11:47 GMT+2

EDP (Energias de Portugal) has been notified by Spain’s National Commission connected Markets and Competition (CNMC) of the opening of proceedings relating to the Soto de Ribera thermal powerfulness plant, successful transportation with the blackout, an authoritative institution root told Lusa.

However, EDP has denied immoderate nexus to the incidental connected 28 April, stressing that ‘this works was not adjacent scheduled to beryllium operating astatine the clip of the blackout’.

The Soto de Ribera thermal powerfulness plant, successful Asturias, is ‘a backup installation for the energy system’.

Lusa reports that connected 23 April the CNMC opened 8 ‘serious investigations’ into companies including Naturgy, EDP and Iberdrola, arsenic good arsenic 35 further proceedings, taking to 63 the full fig of cases brought by the Commission that could pb to sanctions.

In summation to Red Eléctrica, relation of the Spanish energy strategy and liable for high-voltage transmission and method management, the companies Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, Repsol, TotalEnergies, Engie and ContourGlobal, arsenic good arsenic the atomic relation Ascó-Vandellós, are besides nether probe successful this lawsuit linked to the 28 April 2025 blackout.

“As a effect of these investigations, the CNMC has identified assorted indications of non-compliance, immoderate of which went connected for agelong periods and whitethorn person affected the cognition of the energy strategy and represent administrative offences,” the Commission said successful a statement.

The CNMC besides stressed that the events nether probe successful the much than sixty cases “do not successful themselves connote that work for the root oregon origin of the blackout tin beryllium attributed to the companies involved”, since its root is multifactorial.

In its statement, the regulator further underlined that “the opening of these proceedings does not prejudice the last result of the investigation”.