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Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Climate
- Straits Times
Czech Republic hit by major power outage triggered by fallen cable
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Trams are immobilized during a major power outage in Prague, Czech Republic, July 4, 2025. CTK/Ptacek Jan via REUTERS PRAGUE - 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 network. 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 March. "There 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 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 back-up systems. National transmission system operator CEPS declared a nationwide state of emergency after the V411 transmission grid line and the 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 (29 miles) 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 RESTORED All affected substations had power back before 1300 GMT, CEPS said, but distribution companies were working for hours more 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. The prison authority said 13 prisons had lost power, but that security had not been compromised. Three large hospitals in Prague temporarily ran on back-up 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. Following the outage in Spain in May, analysts said that Europe's ageing power grid and lack of energy storage capacity will require trillions of dollars in investments to cope with rising green energy output and increasing electricity demand. REUTERS
The Star
16 hours ago
- Climate
- The Star
Czech Republic hit by major power outage
Trams are immobilized during a major power outage in Prague, Czech Republic, July 4, 2025. CTK/Ptacek Jan via REUTERS PRAGUE (Reuters) - 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. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka, Vera Dvorakova, Nina Chestney, writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Mark Potter and Barbara Lewis)
Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Czech Republic hit by major power outage
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Trams are immobilized during a major power outage in Prague, Czech Republic, July 4, 2025. CTK/Ptacek Jan via REUTERS 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. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Banks tighten vigilance and processes following $3b money laundering case Singapore Seller's stamp duty hike will curb short-term speculation; market effect likely minimal: Analysts Singapore Trilateral work group formed to address allegations of foreigners illegally taking on platform work World Trump says countries to start paying tariffs on Aug 1; floats range of 10% to 70% Singapore Think like criminals, anticipate cyber-attack tactics: Experts Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy Life Book review: OB Markers sequel Ink And Influence makes catch-22 proposal for The Straits Times 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. REUTERS
