185. Blackouts - Jul25

What Really Happened During the Iberian Blackout This Spring? And How Should We Make Sense of the Conflicting Reports?

To shed light on the events, Gerard and Laurent are joined by global energy expert Steve Berberich, who served as President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) from 2011 to 2020. Steve led CAISO through the August 2020 blackout in California and now serves as President and CEO of Onward Energy.

We begin by placing the Iberian blackout in a broader context—comparing and contrasting it with major grid failures from recent years: South Australia 2016, California 2020, Texas Uri 2021, Ireland 2024, Louisiana 2025 and of course Iberia 2025.

We examine both the long-term systemic weaknesses and short-term triggering events behind each case—identifying patterns, divergences, and the reforms that followed in their aftermath. Then we turn our full attention to Spain. Unlike the other blackouts, the Iberian event did not stem from extreme weather. Instead, Steve—along with Gerard and Laurent—dives deep into the underlying structural vulnerabilities of the Spanish grid.

From regulatory gaps and design flaws to operational mistakes, we scrutinize the entire system and arrive at a set of clear, evidence-based conclusions.

Link to Gerard’s substack https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/spains-grid-blame-blackouts-bureaucracy-gerard-reid-tiqre/

Link to the Energy Institute Report https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review