Britain hit by unusual power activity hours before Spain blackout
Britain's electricity grid operator is investigating unexplained power plant failures that hit the UK's system hours before Spain and Portugal were plunged into blackouts.
Control room staff at the National Energy System Operator (Neso) observed unusual activity on Sunday that saw the power frequency shift unexpectedly in the early morning and the evening.
Keeping the frequency of the electricity system within certain limits is vital to keeping the lights on.
The first event began at around 2am with an outage at the Keadby 2 gas-fired power plant in Lincolnshire, followed by the unexplained failure of the Viking Link interconnector between the UK and Denmark.
At around 6pm, the frequency shifted unexpectedly again – with the cause currently unknown.
Neso, the quango that manages the British grid, confirmed to The Telegraph on Tuesday morning that officials were investigating.
A spokesman did not provide further details but said there was currently no suggestion that the outages were linked to each other or the massive system failures that occurred on Monday throughout Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France.
Such investigations are standard practice whenever there is an unexplained outage on the grid.
But it comes as grid stability is being closely scrutinised across Europe, with Spain and Portugal currently in the process of painstakingly re-activating their grids following the unprecedented loss of power nationwide.
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, refused to speculate on the suspected cause in a press conference late on Monday.
An earlier suggestion by Portuguese officials that the blackouts may have been triggered by a freak weather event have since been downplayed, leaving the events that led to Europe's worst electricity failure in decades shrouded in mystery.
Meanwhile, Jordi Sevilla, the former president of Spain's national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, suggested on Tuesday that the loss of power was indirectly caused by Spain's heavy reliance on solar and wind farms.
In an editorial for financial newspaper Cinco Días, Mr Sevilla said the rising dependence on renewables that did not generate so-called inertia, which helped to stabilise the frequency of electricity systems, created 'obvious' problems that had been ignored by politicians.
'Our electricity grid requires investment to adapt to the technical reality of the new generation mix,' he said, according to translated text.
The unexpected outages in Britain on Sunday were of a much smaller magnitude but have still spooked officials.
Market transparency data show Keadby 2 was scheduled to come online on Sunday morning to help meet high power demand in the morning, but it is understood it tripped at around 2am.
The Viking interconnector was expected to provide power to the grid but also suffered a sudden fault just after this.
According to market data published by Elexon, the cable was providing 236 megawatts of power to the British grid at 2am before the output suddenly fell to zero and remained at that level until about 11am.
This is unusual because the cable will usually follow power prices – unless the Neso intervenes – meaning it tends to be either exporting or importing at least some power most of the time.
It is understood that the problem may have been caused by a fault on the Danish side.
Officials are also investigating the unexpected frequency change at 6pm, but it is understood that no specific outages have been linked to that currently.
On Tuesday, a Neso spokesman said: 'As a prudent system operator we review all generator trips and events on our network as standard practice.
'We are still reviewing operational events across the weekend. However, it is highly unlikely that these events are connected to each other or related to the events on the European electricity network on Monday.
'Great Britain's electricity network was not affected by the power system incident on the European electricity network on Monday.
'We are working closely with our counterparts across Europe to understand the cause of today's power system incident and to offer our support. It is too early to comment further on today's events and whilst investigations are still ongoing.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Heat health warning issued as temperatures set to reach 30C
Health officials have issued the first heat health warning of the year. The Met Office has forecast a high of 30C on Friday, with a yellow alert spanning from 9pm on June 12 until 8am on June 15, covering the east of England, the East Midlands, London and the South East. Warmth of this level is of no concern to the majority of the population, but officials warned that it can pose a threat to the elderly and vulnerable. A heat health alert is issued only when a higher demand on the NHS is expected from vulnerable people, with an increased risk to health for those aged over 65 or with pre-existing health conditions. Following a yellow alert, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises people to close windows and curtains that face the sun and to seek shade outside. It also recommends that people wear hats and sunglasses, apply sun cream and avoid direct sunlight between 11am and 3pm. People should only do exercise in the morning or evening and ensure that 'vulnerable friends and family [are] aware of the symptoms of heatstroke'. Dr Agostinho Sousa, the head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: 'Even moderate heat can result in serious health outcomes, especially for older adults, and it is therefore important that everyone takes sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.' The health alert came as parts of south-west England, South Wales and Northern Ireland were issued with a weather warning for thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday by the Met Office. A separate warning spanning Friday afternoon and Saturday morning is in place for south-east England and East Anglia. Neil Armstrong, the chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'A weather system will push northwards through tomorrow, bringing heavy rain and a risk of thunderstorms to parts of south-west England, most of Wales, and later into Northern Ireland. '40mm of rain could fall in three hours or less, leading to the potential for disruption. Further thunderstorms will develop during the afternoon across England and Wales, moving quickly northwards with hail and lightning. Temperatures will remain high, with 26 or 27C possible again in the north Midlands and parts of north London.' Meanwhile, Sir Chris Bryant, the tourism minister, warned too much exposure to the sun could be fatal. Speaking at a conference organised by Abta, the travel trade organisation, on Wednesday, Sir Chris said: 'One thing that is very close to my heart, because I've had stage four melanoma – which probably sprang from my years in Spain when I was a child – is about responsible use of the sun. 'We know that it kills, getting it wrong. The British obsession with laughing at people because they've gone lobster pink is daft. We need to do better about this.' Addressing the gathering of travel trade executives, he added: 'I know you don't want to be preaching to everybody who gets on an aeroplane with you, but being able to do all this responsibly, I think, is important.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week
The UK's topsy-turvy weather is set to continue this week, with forecasters hinting at the possibility of 'blood rain' heading to UK shores. A brief blast of heat is expected for much of the country later in the coming days - only to quickly be replaced by torrential rain. And, what's more, it is predicted the downpours will bring with it some Saharan dust. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at exactly what Saharan dust is and what it could mean for the coming days. It's a mixture of sand, detritus and dust from the Sahara Desert that have been blown thousands of miles by strong winds in the upper part of the atmosphere as far north as British shores. However, for it to end up on the ground, it needs to be carried there by a meteorological vehicle, such as rain. According to the Met Office, Britain's official forecaster: "As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust." This is sometimes referred to as 'blood rain'. According to Met Office forecasters, there are currently "hints of a little bit of Saharan dust in the atmosphere on Thursday and perhaps Friday". Thunderstorms forecast for later in the week will "potentially wash any sand out of the atmosphere". Heavy rain is currently expected to start in Northern Ireland, western Wales and south west England on Wednesday night, before moving north and east over Thursday. This is then predicted to be followed by a second band of rain following the same pattern over Friday and Saturday. However, downpours are also expected to be preceded by high temperatures, reaching almost 30C in parts of southern and central England. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: 'After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. "These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south. The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption. "While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week.' The most obvious impact most will see from 'blood rain' is a reddish residue left on cars, pavements and garden furniture. In 2022, Saharan dust left a red tinge to snow at ski resorts in the French Pyrenees, while staff at Legoland in Germany had to deploy jet washers to hose down attractions before visitors arrived. BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood advised the public to keep an eye out for "impressive sunrise/sets" as a result of the phenomenon. As the southerly flow develops this week, there will be some Saharan dust pushing widely across the UK from later on Wednesday to Friday. You may notice this on your car! And where there are clear skies there is also the chance of some impressive sunrise/sets.@BBCBreakfast xx — Carol Kirkwood (@carolkirkwood) June 9, 2025 However, it can also have more serious consequences, particularly for people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD or bronchitis. 'If there's a lot of air pollution in the air [and] if you have a pre-existing lung condition, those fine particles can get into your airway and irritate airways that may already be inflamed," said Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at Asthma and Lung UK. "If you're out and about and you have a reliever inhaler, make sure you've got that reliever inhaler with you.' She added: 'If you do start to get symptoms — that might be coughing, wheezing, tightness across your chest, feeling a bit more breathless — you can take that reliever inhaler and that can hopefully help with your symptoms.' One of the last widespread instances of Saharan dust affecting Europe was in March 2022, when parts of Germany, Spain and France all found themselves blanketed with a layer of red debris. But it has also struck more recently, such as last month, when the phenomenon left a brown haze hanging over Athens, the Greek capital. And last year, dust clouds over Italy saw temperatures in June approach 40C. Closer to the dust's starting point, in Africa, a dust storm in Senegalese capital Dakar shortly before Christmas reduced visibility to less than 500 metres.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Weekend weather update from FOX Weather: 65 million under severe weather threat Saturday
Welcome to the Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather. It's June 7, 2025. Start your day with everything you need to know about today's weather. You can also get a quick briefing of national, regional and local weather whenever you like with the FOX Weather Update podcast. The weekend is kicking off much like the work week has ended across much of the nation's heartland: with weather maps and radars dotted with clusters of strong thunderstorms and severe weather alerts. Saturday's severe weather threat covers around 65 million people across the southern Plains, Deep South and into the Southeast. Primary dangers include wind gusts of 60+ mph and very large to giant hail, but a few tornadoes are possible. A lightning strike hit a house in Southern California Tuesday, startling a mom and her two children who were standing just feet away. Tiffanie Buckner was recording the lightning as storms were rolling in, as she and her children were about to go inside, she told Storyful. Her 6-year-old daughter, Penelope, was standing in front of the camera the moment a large lightning bolt hit a home in the cul-de-sac behind her. A busy start to the hurricane season in the eastern Pacific Ocean got even busier Saturday morning as the National Hurricane Center has now added a third area to watch for possible tropical development. But in the short term, two clusters of thunderstorms are on the cusp of becoming the basin's next named storms, but which area of disturbed weather will take the name Barbara remains somewhat of an open question. Both thunderstorm clusters were designated as invests on Friday as they parallel or slowly drift away from the Mexican coastline. Here are a few more stories you might find interesting. Invasive species posing 'extreme threat' found near popular summer vacation spot With record-breaking snowmelt, is the western US at risk for wildfires like those in Canada? Rescue dog missing 36 days found swimming in waters off British island Need more weather? Check your local forecast plus 3D radar in the FOX Weather app. You can also watch FOX Weather wherever you go using the FOX Weather app, at or on your favorite streaming service. It's easy to share your weather photos and videos with us. Email them to weather@ or add the hashtag #FOXWeather to your post on your favorite social media article source: Weekend weather update from FOX Weather: 65 million under severe weather threat Saturday