Latest news with #REDEIA
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Spain and Portugal power cut: how public and official responses have prevented this energy emergency from becoming a crisis
For Spain and Portugal, 28 April 2025 will go down in history as the day of 'el gran apagón', the big blackout. The outage, which affected the two countries simultaneously, was one of the 15 largest power cuts in world history in terms of the number of people affected, with over 58 million people experiencing its consequences. What made it particularly remarkable was not only its magnitude, but also the response by the authorities and the public. Unlike other major historical blackouts, such as those that hit North America in 2003 and India in 2012, the response of the authorities, grid operators and supply companies made it possible to reduce the impact on critical infrastructures. Restoration of service progressed throughout the day as hospitals, airports and essential services remained operational thanks to their backup systems, a clear demonstration of the importance of robust emergency protocols. A key factor in this relatively quick response was the action of REDEIA, the Spanish grid operator, which has more than four decades of experience in managing the country's high-voltage transmission system. Their social media explanations on how recovery is progressing continue to be particularly invaluable. The company activated its contingency protocols, and coordinated with its Portuguese counterpart, REN (Redes Energéticas Nacionais). This cross-border collaboration was essential to isolating the initial failure and preventing a domino effect that could have caused the blackout to spread to other European regions. The blackout has also highlighted the importance of maintaining continuous investment in real-time monitoring technologies and smart grid management systems. These systems allow anomalies to be detected quickly and responded to accurately, even for incidents on an enormous scale involving interconnected electricity systems like Europe's. Leer más: While investigations to determine the exact causes of the blackout are still ongoing, initial hypotheses point to technical factors. While some have suggested an intentional attack, there is currently no evidence that this is the case. The incident underscores the need to continue strengthening electricity infrastructures to make them more resilient to extreme events, especially in the face of energy transition and climate change. Although fundamental for sustainability, the increasing integration of renewable energies in the Iberian energy mix poses new challenges to grid stability that will require innovative solutions. Leer más: The public's response was also key to the response, with few incidents reported despite the magnitude of the power outage. The emergency services recorded a high but manageable volume of calls, but these came mainly from people seeking information rather than in critical situations. Social media, accessible through battery-powered mobile devices, served as an alternative information channel, allowing authorities to share recommendations and updates on progress in restoring service. Radio also became essential, as it did in previous emergency situations such as the October 2024 floods in Valencia and Storm Filomena in 2021. The blackout will have major repercussions for the European Union's energy policies. While the Iberian system has proven its resilience, the incident reinforces the need to boost investments in electricity interconnections between EU Member States, and in energy storage systems that can provide emergency backup. The European Commission has already announced that it will study the power outage in detail in order to draw conclusions for the continental electricity grid as a whole, as part of its objectives in the European Green Pact and decarbonisation strategy for 2050. Despite its historic magnitude, the Iberian blackout has demonstrated that preparedness, investment in robust infrastructures and effective coordination between operators are decisive factors in minimising the impact of this type of crisis. The responses of REDEIA and REN, together with the public's responsible behaviour, has turned what could have been a catastrophe into a case study in the management of energy emergencies. As the peninsula's energy supply is still gradually being restored, work is already underway to strengthen an energy system that, despite the events of 28 April, has confirmed its position among the most reliable and advanced in the world. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: Spain-Portugal blackout: what could have caused it, and how can we prevent another? Did 'induced atmospheric vibration' cause blackouts in Europe? An electrical engineer explains the phenomenon Valencia floods: How proper response can stop a natural disaster from becoming a public health crisis Mar Rubio Varas no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain-Portugal blackout: what could have caused it, and how can we prevent another?
On 28 April 2025, an unprecedented collapse of the Iberian Peninsula's electricity grid brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill. The likelihood of this ever happening was extremely low and – speculation about its causes aside – the episode has caused serious social disruption, as well as economic losses at all levels. Spain's electricity comes from a range of soures, including renewables (which are inconsistent by nature), fossil fuels, and nuclear power. A system operator centralises the power offers from producers, creating an aggregate supply that matches the demand requirements of the distribution companies. The electricity is then sold, either directly to consumers, or to smaller local companies. These market clearings, as they are known, take place 24 hours in advance (the 'day-ahead market'), leaving open a daily market ('spot') for occasional fluctuations in order to prevent any system failure ('fall-out'). Producers also undertake to fulfil medium and long-term contracts, supplying the electricity that they have committed to in each period. All this generates an amalgam of wholesale prices that the system must administer, while REDEIA (the commercial name for the Red Eléctrica de España, the Spanish National Electricity Grid) distributes the energy generated. In addition to wholesale prices and different end-consumer tariffs, the increase in renewable energy supply is, somewhat paradoxically, destabilising the system. Energy generated by renewable resources represents, on average, more than half of total generation. Renewable energy sources have a raft of well-known benefits: their installation costs are ever-decreasing, they are environmentally friendly, and they need almost no maintenance. However, fossil-fuelled power plants still have to cover any disruption, both during the day (due to low performance of solar and wind facilities, for instance) and at night (due to the absence of solar energy). They have to be active at all times, contributing to a substantial increase in the market price, although renewables do lower the overall market price. In addition, the increase in photovoltaic and wind energy fed into the grid can cause severe surges. The current grids are not prepared for them – Spanish officials have cited a 'very strong oscillation in the electrical network' as one of the blackout's causes – so the system removes them from the supply. The grid also has to manage energy flows in both directions due to the surplus from small renewable producers (mostly households). This places an additional strain on the grid, both at a physical level and in terms of bureaucratic system administration, all of which affects its resilience. Spain is currently in the process of shutting down nuclear plants, which will mean reduced production. This should be justified not only on a technical but also on a social level, especially since the European Union has declared nuclear to be a clean, low-carbon energy source. The events of 28 April raise one big question: can our current power generation systems meet an ever-growing demand that is also increasingly dynamic and fickle? The immediate answer is no. Not only is the demand for electricity rising and fluctuating more than ever – accentuated by the rise of servers and data centres powering artificial intelligence (AI) systems – but electricity generation is also more diverse in its composition and origin. In other words, the cost of generating and transmitting a kilowatt depends on whether it is generated by renewable, nuclear or thermal plants, what time it is generated, and the distance to be covered by the network between its origin and final destination. There is a growing trend in the EU to unify electricity generation systems and transfer energy between national systems. There are already unified markets such as Mibel (the Iberian Electricity Market, which covers Spain and Portugal) and NordPool (which covers the Nordic countries), with energy exchanges to neighbouring markets and networks. Some projects suggest going even further and centralising energy distribution at European level. One significant advantage of a centralised energy distribution system is the diversification of production, as it provides greater flexibility, not only in terms of generation plants but also in terms of the resources used. In this sense, the rationalisation of the system is increased by greater technical efficiency and the possibility of offering final prices closer to the marginal cost of production, reducing the market power of the generating companies. However, this system also increases the risk of contagion in the event of any negative shock, be it a cyber-attack, a severe technical problem or a natural disaster. The events of 28 April are a clear example of this: almost all of Spain and Portugal and some areas of southwestern France were affected. The disconnection of the Iberian subsystem prevented blackouts in the rest of Europe but, at the same time, prevented energy transfers from other European regions to the affected area. Although the Mibel market and energy transfers with neighbouring France ensure a more efficient and secure distribution of electricity, the consequences are unpredictable in the event of a massive system failure. The Iberian blackout leaves questions open about the future of electricity production and how it should be distributed and marketed. Increasing power generation outside the centralised system – with small-scale generation and consumption units – seems a good way to manage demand, making it less vulnerable to a widespread blackout and shifting resource management to the consumer, which undoubtedly increases efficiency. At the same time, a centralised system must be in place to ensure supply for certain economic activities with high electricity demand (such as manufacturing), to ensure the operation of networks such as railways and phones, and for precautionary reasons. The increase in demand and the improvement of renewable energy technology should shape an electricity market with less power for large energy companies. It should also help to rationalise distribution grids and increase versatility between centrally produced energy and contributions to the system of surplus production from end users. However, for this to happen, both the physical grid and the architecture of the electricity distribution system need to be improved. With the blackout, reality has once again surpassed fiction. While countless doubts still remain, one thing is certain: electricity system reform has to quickly move beyond the realms of political debate to build an urgent, immediate plan of action. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: Five ways to make cities more resilient to climate change Did 'induced atmospheric vibration' cause blackouts in Europe? An electrical engineer explains the phenomenon South Africa finally has a masterplan for a renewable energy industry: here's what it says Carlos Gutiérrez Hita receives funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and from the Council of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment of the Generalitat Valenciana.
