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Time of India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Why did the lights go out in Spain and Portugal? Here's what we know
After a nearly daylong power outage upended life for millions across Spain and Portugal, authorities in both countries are still searching for the cause of the disruption. Some of Spain's top officials convened Wednesday to discuss the blackout, which halted critical infrastructure starting Monday afternoon for nearly 18 hours in some areas. Power was almost entirely restored by Tuesday in Spain and Portugal, as well as in southern France, where households in the Basque region were affected. The cause remains under investigation. Spain's top security and defense officials met Wednesday to discuss the blackout, with officials saying they were considering a range of possibilities. The Spanish government has asked European regulators and various domestic agencies to investigate what happened. On Tuesday, Eduardo Prieto, director of services for Spain's national power company, Red Eléctrica, said that there were no "definitive conclusions" about the reasons for the outage, although he and other officials ruled out a cyberattack. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain said that a committee of technical experts from the European Commission would investigate the cause. Some facts have emerged about how the blackout began. Around noon Monday, a high-voltage connection between France and Spain was interrupted, according to Kristian Ruby, secretary-general of Eurelectric, a trade body that represents the European electricity industry. The power outage occurred just over 30 minutes later. While that interruption would have been expected to be disruptive, it would not normally lead to a "system collapse" like the one that occurred Monday, Ruby said. Some other complication would typically need to happen, "like a sudden outage at a power plant, a sudden development on the demand side," he said. "Then you can have an incident like this." Hospitals, banks and travel were disrupted. During the outage, there were widespread problems connecting to the internet and to phone networks across Spain and Portugal. Hospitals in Spain were forced to run on generators. Portuguese banks and schools closed. Spain's national rail company said that trains had stopped operating at all stations. Subways in several cities, including Valencia and Madrid, were halted. And people crammed into stores to buy food and other essentials as clerks used pen and paper to record cash-only transactions. Temperatures at the time of the outage were higher than usual. According to Spain's meteorological agency, AEMET, temperatures across the country were between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit around the time of the outage. By the end of the day, highs had climbed to between 82 and 87 degrees. In a typical April, temperatures in Spain average around 64 degrees in central and northern regions and around 70 degrees in the south. Asked whether the outage was connected to the heat, Bruno Silva, a spokesperson for the Portuguese electricity supplier REN, was skeptical. "No, I hope not," he said. Attention has focused on Spain's reliance on renewable energy. The incident has raised questions about whether Spain's rapid shift to renewable energy left it more vulnerable to outages. More than half of Spain's electricity came from renewable energy last year, putting it at the forefront of Europe's transition to sources such as wind turbines and solar farms. That has led to lower electricity prices in Spain, but the rapid transition has also left the Spanish power grid -- and Portugal, which it supplies energy to -- prone to disruptions, analysts say. Old-line power sources like gas turbines and nuclear plants are better at buffering the fluctuations that can arise with intermittent sources like wind and solar power. Experts said that it might have been easier for Spain to manage instability in its power grid if conventional power sources had a larger presence and if Spain had invested more in grid infrastructure and electricity storage facilities, like batteries, to provide backup power. But officials in Spain have said they don't believe there is a connection between the energy supply and the outage. Beatriz Corredor, the chair of Red Eléctrica, told Spanish radio Wednesday that it was "not correct to link the incident to renewable energy." Other European outages have halted daily life. More than 50 million people in Italy were affected by an outage for almost a full day in 2003 after a line between Switzerland and Italy was overloaded. It was considered the worst day of blackouts in the country since World War II. In 2006, 10 million people in Germany were briefly without power after the northwestern part of the country's power grid became overloaded. And last year, much of the Balkans was without power for several hours during a heat wave in which temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius, or over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Power restored in Spain and Portugal but reason for blackout remains a mystery
The reason behind the extensive blackouts in Spain and Portugal remained unclear on Tuesday, with some isolated disruptions persisting after the majority of power was restored. One of the most significant blackouts in Europe grounded flights, paralysed train services, disrupted mobile communications, and caused ATMs to shut down across the Iberian Peninsula on Monday. By 11 am CET on Tuesday, the Spanish electrical system was reported to be operating normally, according to electricity operator Red Eléctrica. The Portuguese grid operator REN confirmed that power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers. As normalcy began to resume, Spanish authorities had not yet offered further clarification on why the country, with a population of 49 million, experienced a loss of 15 gigawatts—equivalent to 60% of its national demand—in just five seconds. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the government's priorities were to restore Spain's electrical system and to investigate the causes of the blackout to prevent a recurrence of such an event. Eduardo Prieto, the director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, reported two significant consecutive 'disconnection events' prior to the blackout on Monday. He indicated to reporters that further investigation is required. Spain's meteorological agency, AEMET, stated that it had not observed any 'unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena,' and no abrupt temperature changes were noted at its weather stations. Portugal's National Cybersecurity Centre confirmed that there was no evidence suggesting the outage was caused by a cyberattack. Additionally, Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, dismissed the possibility of sabotage. The Spanish news agency EFE has reported that authorities are looking into five fatalities, including three individuals from the same family, which may be connected to the power outage. According to EFE, the three family members lost their lives in Galicia due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator, a woman in Valencia died due to issues with an oxygen supply device, and another individual perished in a fire ignited by a candle in Madrid. The Madrid Open tennis tournament resumed following a blackout that led to the postponement of 22 matches. A busy schedule on Tuesday saw second-ranked Iga Swiatek progress to the quarterfinals. At Spain's largest train stations, numerous travellers gathered on Tuesday to board trains or to reschedule their journeys. At Madrid's Atocha station, hundreds waited near screens for updates, with many having spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets supplied by the Red Cross. As of 11 am on Tuesday, the subway services in Madrid were completely restored. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, the system was functioning normally; however, certain commuter trains remained suspended in the afternoon due to 'electrical instability,' as reported by Rodalies Catalunya on X. In various regions of Spain, commuter and mid-distance services continued to be either suspended or operating at reduced capacity. Emergency responders in Spain indicated that approximately 35,000 passengers were rescued on Monday after being stranded along railways and in underground stations. The blackout significantly disrupted transit systems, causing sports centres, train stations, and airports to serve as temporary shelters.
Saudi Gazette
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Sánchez vows to uncover reasons behind massive Iberian power outage
MADRID — The reason behind the extensive blackouts in Spain and Portugal remained unclear on Tuesday, with some isolated disruptions persisting after the majority of power was restored. One of the most significant blackouts in Europe grounded flights, paralysed train services, disrupted mobile communications, and caused ATMs to shut down across the Iberian Peninsula on Monday. By 11 am CET on Tuesday, the Spanish electrical system was reported to be operating normally, according to electricity operator Red Eléctrica. The Portuguese grid operator REN confirmed that power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers. As normalcy began to resume, Spanish authorities had not yet offered further clarification on why the country, with a population of 49 million, experienced a loss of 15 gigawatts—equivalent to 60% of its national demand—in just five seconds. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the government's priorities were to restore Spain's electrical system and to investigate the causes of the blackout to prevent a recurrence of such an event. Eduardo Prieto, the director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, reported two significant consecutive 'disconnection events' prior to the blackout on Monday. He indicated to reporters that further investigation is meteorological agency, AEMET, stated that it had not observed any 'unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena,' and no abrupt temperature changes were noted at its weather National Cybersecurity Centre confirmed that there was no evidence suggesting the outage was caused by a cyberattack. Additionally, Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, dismissed the possibility of Spanish news agency EFE has reported that authorities are looking into five fatalities, including three individuals from the same family, which may be connected to the power to EFE, the three family members lost their lives in Galicia due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator, a woman in Valencia died due to issues with an oxygen supply device, and another individual perished in a fire ignited by a candle in Madrid Open tennis tournament resumed following a blackout that led to the postponement of 22 matches. A busy schedule on Tuesday saw second-ranked Iga Swiatek progress to the Spain's largest train stations, numerous travelers gathered on Tuesday to board trains or to reschedule their journeys. At Madrid's Atocha station, hundreds waited near screens for updates, with many having spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets supplied by the Red of 11 am on Tuesday, the subway services in Madrid were completely restored. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, the system was functioning normally; however, certain commuter trains remained suspended in the afternoon due to 'electrical instability,' as reported by Rodalies Catalunya on various regions of Spain, commuter and mid-distance services continued to be either suspended or operating at reduced responders in Spain indicated that approximately 35,000 passengers were rescued on Monday after being stranded along railways and in underground blackout significantly disrupted transit systems, causing sports centers, train stations, and airports to serve as temporary shelters. — Euronews
1News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- 1News
Power almost fully restored after huge outages in Spain, Portugal
The cause of Spain and Portugal's widespread blackouts remained a mystery this morning, with some isolated disruption remaining after power was largely restored to both countries. One of Europe's most severe blackouts grounded flights, paralysed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula on Tuesday. By 6am on Wednesday (NZT) more than 99% of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Eléctrica said. Portuguese grid operator REN said all 89 power substations were back online and power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers. As life began to return to normal — with schools and offices reopening, traffic easing and public transport restarting — the authorities in Spain had yet to provide further explanations for what caused one of the most serious blackouts to ever take place in Europe. The Southern European nation of 49 million people lost 15 gigawatts — equivalent to 60% of its national demand — in just five seconds. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that the government's priorities were twofold: restoring Spain's electrical system and finding the causes of the blackout so that a similar event "never takes place again". Such widespread electric failure has little precedent on the Iberian Peninsula or in Europe. Eduardo Prieto, director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, noted two steep, back-to-back "disconnection events" before Tuesday's blackout. Speaking at a new conference later on Tuesday, he said that more investigation was needed to understand why they took place. 1News Europe Correspondent Mei Heron said a Kiwi living in Spain described the outages as "pure chaos". (Source: Breakfast) Spain's meteorological agency, AEMET, said that it hadn't detected any "unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena" on Tuesday, and no sudden temperature fluctuations were recorded at their weather stations. Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center on Monday dismissed speculation about foul play, saying that there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyberattack. European Council President António Costa also said that there were "no indications of any cyberattack," while Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage. Nonetheless, the outage "is one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times," she said. At Spain's largest train stations, droves of travelers waited Tuesday morning to board trains, or to rebook tickets for journeys that were canceled or disrupted. At Madrid's Atocha station, hundreds of people stood near screens waiting for updates. Many had spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets provided by the Red Cross. Similar scenes played out at Barcelona's Sants station. The Madrid Open tennis tournament resumed after the blackout caused 22 matches to be postponed on Monday. A packed schedule Tuesday included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals. By late Tuesday, service on Madrid's subway system was fully restored. In Barcelona, the system was operating normally, but commuter trains were suspended because of 'electrical instability,' the company that runs the service, Rodalies Catalunya, said on X. In some parts of the country, commuter and mid-distance services were still suspended or running at reduced capacity. Emergency workers in Spain said they had rescued around 35,000 passengers on Monday stranded along railways and underground. The blackout was especially disruptive on transit systems, turning sports centers, train stations and airports into makeshift overnight refuges. Rubén Carión was stranded on a commuter train outside Madrid but managed to open a window and walk to the nearest transit station. He and a friend later spent the night in Atocha station after their train back to Barcelona was canceled. The 24-year-old Carión said that he chose to wait at the station instead of a hotel, so he could stay updated on when he could buy a new ticket home. Sleeping on the floor "hungry, thirsty and tired," Cairón described his experience in two words: "pure chaos".
Dubai Eye
30-04-2025
- Business
- Dubai Eye
Spain, Portugal switch back on and search for answers after major blackout
Spain and Portugal switched their power back on after the worst blackout in their history, though authorities offered little explanation for what had caused it or how they would prevent it from happening again. Traffic lights were back on, train and metro services slowly returned and schools reopened. Commuters battled with delays to get back to work after an outage that had left people stranded in lifts and cut off from phone contact with their families. The sudden outage had seen the equivalent of 60 per cent of demand in Spain drop in five seconds around midday on Monday. Spanish Grid operator REE on Tuesday ruled out a cyber attack as the cause. It said it had identified two incidents of power generation loss, probably from solar plants, in Spain's southwest that caused instability in the electric system and led to a breakdown of its interconnection with France. But it was still too early to explain why that had happened, REE's system operations chief Eduardo Prieto told a press conference. "Until we receive the data on the generation aspects we cannot draw conclusions," he said. REE planned to invest in more interconnections with France to make the system more stable, he added. Spain is one of Europe's biggest producers of renewable energy, and the blackout sparked debate about whether the volatility of supply from solar or wind made its power systems more vulnerable. Investment bank RBC said the economic cost of the blackout could range between 2.25 billion euros and 4.5 billion euros, blaming the Spanish government for being too complacent about infrastructure in a system dependent on solar power with little battery storage. STATE OF EMERGENCY Madrid's authorities put on free buses to get people to work on Tuesday and the metro and some trains started to operate, although with delays. A state of emergency was declared across many Spanish regions on Monday, with the deployment of 30,000 police. In Atocha station in Madrid, police and Red Cross workers handed out blankets and bottles of water. Cafes and restaurants counted the cost of lost produce after fridges and freezers were switched off for more than eight hours. In Portugal, the government said hospitals were back up and running, airports were operational albeit with delays in Lisbon, while the capital's metro was restarting operations and trains were running. Energy systems can be vulnerable when combining intermittent renewable power such as wind and solar with traditional sources such as gas and nuclear plants, said Victor Becerra, a professor of power systems engineering at the University of Portsmouth. "Whatever the cause, a major failure in one area can place sudden pressure on neighbouring systems, causing protective shutdowns to prevent further damage," Becerra said. More than 75 per cent of the energy Spain was using at the time of the outage came from renewable sources, according to Red Electrica data.
