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A major power surge that resulted in a large-scale electrical failure across Spanish territory and Portugal has been classified as the "most serious" power disruption in Europe during the last 20 years, and represents a unprecedented event of its type, according to a newly released investigation.

Damian Cortinas of the organization of electricity grid operators declared that this notable situation marked the initial documented power failure to be directly caused by overvoltage, which occurs when surplus electrical pressure builds up within a network.

"This is new territory," Cortinas remarked, explaining that the organization's function was "not to assign responsibility to any party" regarding the root origin.

The spring's blackout generated significant interruption for almost one full day when it threw multiple areas into darkness, terminating network services and stopping transport links.

Extensive Consequences

The electrical failure impacted extensive regions of the Spanish territory and Portugal, and momentarily influenced southwestern France.

The study, released on Friday, concentrated on the condition of the energy infrastructure on the date of the outage and the chain of incidents preceding it.

Technical Malfunctions

A series of "cascading overvoltages" - defined as an rise in the electrical supply voltage surpassing the regulated threshold - was determined to be the key factor behind the blackout, the investigation concluded.

Overvoltage can be triggered by increases in networks due to oversupply or electrical storms, or when protective equipment are insufficient.

Per the study, automated protection systems were triggered but were unable to stop the energy grid from failing.

Multiple Investigations

The investigation comes after various distinct investigations and studies by the Spanish government, as well as power and grid companies. The oversight organization and Spanish lawmakers are also performing distinct examinations.

The Madrid administration believes that the organization's conclusions supports its previous conclusions.

The minister for environmental policy commented that it was "fully aligned" with the results of an investigation it authorized which concluded in summer that each of the national grid provider and independent power providers were responsible.

Contrasting Narratives

Each of the main network manager and the private firms have insisted that they were not at fault. The parent company has blamed the blackout on some traditional generation stations' failure to help sustain proper electrical levels.

National energy companies claimed it was caused by inadequate preparation from grid operators.

Investigation Obstacles

The study also noted that certain crucial information was missing and that "collecting comprehensive, accurate information proved particularly problematic for this inquiry".

A final report, to be issued in the beginning period of the following year, will examine the root causes of the electrical spike and the measures implemented to control voltage in the grid.

Political Controversy

The blackout triggered a wider discussion that extended into the political arena about the country's power strategy.

The political rivals indicated that an increasingly heavy reliance on green electricity, advocated by the current administration of the national leader, could have been a relevant element in generating the failure and the territory's diminishing production of nuclear electricity meant a consistent reserve was unobtainable.

The authorities roundly rejected these theories and the recent study was prudent to stay impartial when it involved the sources of the month's exceptional failure.

Instant Impacts

The electrical failure compelled professional tennis tournament organizers to stop a match midway during the event.

National atomic energy facilities automatically stopped when the failure hit, and the Spanish oil company reported it stopped production at its fuel processing plants.

Social Disorder

Buildings were cast into blackout, while communication tools and road signals failed to operate. Queues snaked around city blocks and digital purchases malfunctioned, obliging people to line up for money and crowd into public transportation as other transport systems were not running.

Emergency workers were summoned to 286 buildings to free people trapped inside elevators in the capital area and healthcare centers activated crisis protocols, suspending normal activities.