Thousands hit as Czech see 6-hour blackout due to fallen cable, power nearly back
The outage was nearly fully resolved by 1600 GMT.It halted international and local trains and public transport in several cities, including Prague, where the underground was briefly shut down and trams were at a halt for hours. About 1,000 mobile phone network stations were affected and ran on backup systems.National transmission system operator CEPS declared a nationwide state of emergency after the V411 transmission grid line and Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant failed. It was not known what caused the power cable to fall.This had knock-on effects, overburdening another line and substation, and forcing part of the grid to operate as an island, cut off from other parts of the European grid.The Czech Republic has dozens of substations - facilities that convert electricity into different voltages so it can be transmitted throughout the country and distributed locally.CEPS had earlier said the fallen line on the 45-kilometre high-voltage line in the northwest of the country had affected eight of these substations and caused blackouts in five of the Czech Republic's 14 regions.The fallen line, serving an area with lignite power plants, has been included in a modernisation plan and is due to be doubled in capacity by 2028.The Ledvice 6 power plant, which was also affected, is a 660-megawatt, coal-fired plant built in 2017 and operated by CEZ. CEZ did not comment on the plant.SYSTEM RESTOREDAll affected substations had power back before 1300 GMT, CEPS said, but distribution companies were working for more hours to restore supplies to customers.Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a briefing that about 2,000 customers remained without power just before 1600 GMT. He said around half a million had been affected earlier.Across the country, the outage caused 215 incidents involving people trapped in elevators, fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis told Reuters, adding everyone had been rescued.advertisementThe prison authority said 13 prisons had lost power, but that security had not been compromised. Three large hospitals in Prague temporarily ran on backup power.Orlen Unipetrol's Czech refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov went into emergency shutdown, the company said on X.After power supplies resumed, it began restarting operations, but said the process would take several days.- EndsMust Watch
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India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Thousands hit as Czech see 6-hour blackout due to fallen cable, power nearly back
A power outage in large parts of the Czech Republic, including Prague, trapped people in public transport and lifts and idled factories on Friday after a fallen high-voltage cable disrupted the incident is likely to add to concerns about the resilience of Europe's power infrastructure after Spain suffered the worst blackout in its history in April and a fire knocked out the power supply to London's Heathrow airport in was a massive power outage in part of Prague and in the northern and eastern Czech Republic around 12 pm (1000 GMT) today," the Industry and Trade Ministry said. "The cause was the fall of a power cable, not a cyberattack nor a failure of renewable resources." The outage was nearly fully resolved by 1600 halted international and local trains and public transport in several cities, including Prague, where the underground was briefly shut down and trams were at a halt for hours. About 1,000 mobile phone network stations were affected and ran on backup transmission system operator CEPS declared a nationwide state of emergency after the V411 transmission grid line and Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant failed. It was not known what caused the power cable to had knock-on effects, overburdening another line and substation, and forcing part of the grid to operate as an island, cut off from other parts of the European Czech Republic has dozens of substations - facilities that convert electricity into different voltages so it can be transmitted throughout the country and distributed had earlier said the fallen line on the 45-kilometre high-voltage line in the northwest of the country had affected eight of these substations and caused blackouts in five of the Czech Republic's 14 fallen line, serving an area with lignite power plants, has been included in a modernisation plan and is due to be doubled in capacity by Ledvice 6 power plant, which was also affected, is a 660-megawatt, coal-fired plant built in 2017 and operated by CEZ. CEZ did not comment on the RESTOREDAll affected substations had power back before 1300 GMT, CEPS said, but distribution companies were working for more hours to restore supplies to Minister Petr Fiala told a briefing that about 2,000 customers remained without power just before 1600 GMT. He said around half a million had been affected the country, the outage caused 215 incidents involving people trapped in elevators, fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis told Reuters, adding everyone had been prison authority said 13 prisons had lost power, but that security had not been compromised. Three large hospitals in Prague temporarily ran on backup Unipetrol's Czech refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov went into emergency shutdown, the company said on power supplies resumed, it began restarting operations, but said the process would take several days.- EndsMust Watch
NDTV
9 hours ago
- NDTV
Czech Republic Hit By Major Power Outage
Prague: A major power outage that hit parts of the Czech Republic on Friday, briefly halting underground trains in the capital Prague, was probably the result of a technical outage, with no signs of a cyber or terrorist attack, authorities said. The incident is likely to add to concerns about the resilience of Europe's power grids and infrastructure after Spain suffered the worst blackout in its history in April and a fire knocked out the power supply to London's Heathrow airport in March. "Part of the transmission system is without voltage; the event affected also a larger part of transmission system substations," grid operator CEPS said in a statement. CEPS later said that five out of eight affected substations had resumed operation and the causes of the outage were being investigated. It affected the Liberec, North-Bohemia, East-Bohemia and Central Bohemia regions, as well as Prague, CEPS said. Speaking on Czech Television, Interior Minster Vit Rakusan said the authorities had no information to suggest there had been a cyber or terrorist attack. Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka said on X trains were halted on a number of lines and five out of 14 regions of the country were affected. Prague transport company DPP said it had restored operations after underground trains were briefly halted and tram traffic stopped on the right bank of the capital. Czech media reported a number of people trapped in elevators in parts of Prague and central Bohemia. which operates part of the grid in south and south-eastern Czech Republic, said its supply area was not affected. Neighbouring Poland's power grid operator also said its systems were unaffected.
Mint
10 hours ago
- Mint
Massive power outage in Prague halts lives, ATMs not working, public transport hit
A major power outage across the Czech Republic on Friday has brought life of people to a standstill, as they face difficulty to access their cash. Czech police claimed that there has been no information so far that power outage caused by cyber or terrorist attack. According to a report by The Mirror, Prague's metro transport service has stopped and several people are reportedly trapped in elevators. Also, traffic lights are out on many major highways. However, police report they also have little information at this stage. With ATMs not functioning, people are left with little cash and are unclear if card payments are being taken. The Mirror reported that power outage in the Czech Republic is affecting six main regions – Prague, Central Bohemia, Liberec, Ústí nad Labem, Hradec Kralove and Šumperk. Though reports claimed that some of the outlying regions' power was being restored. Hit by the huge power outage, Příbram Regional Hospital stated that they are using a combination of back up sources including diesel generators to keep powering the wards. "Everything is fine with us for now, we are on standby. We have backup power sources and diesel generators ready in case of a power outage," The Mirror quoted its spokesman Martin Janota as saying. Ruling out the cyber attack, the Czech Police also posted on X: 'NCTEKK [National Center for Combating Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime] has no information at this time that this is a cyber/terrorist attack.' Meanwhile, PM Petr Fiala requested that people affected by the power outage in Prague remain patient.
