Latest news with #powerblackout
Reuters
28-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Spanish oil company Moeve's profit hit by 50-million-euro blackout cost
MADRID, July 28 (Reuters) - Spain's second-largest oil refiner Moeve, formerly known as Cepsa, said on Monday the massive power blackout that hit Spain and Portugal cost it more than 50 million euros ($58 million), and it was considering legal action. Adjusted net income dropped to 324 million euros ($378 million) during the first half of the year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 33% from a year ago to 733 million. Both figures exclude one-off revenues and losses such as asset sales. The cost of halting and restarting its two oil refineries during and after the April 28 blackout dragged down core profit, the company said. It can take one or two weeks for such plants to be fully operational after shutdowns. "We're considering possible legal action once responsibility for the blackout has been determined," a company spokesperson said. Redeia-owned ( opens new tab Spanish grid operator REE has traded blame with power utilities for the blackout. A government report pointed to REE's failure to calculate the correct mix of energy as one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the blackout. Rival Repsol ( opens new tab, which operates five refineries in Spain, said the blackout and other smaller power-supply issues cost it 175 million euros in the second quarter. The Moeve refineries also halted for scheduled maintenance during the first six months of this year, which further reduced utilisation ratios, while refining margins narrowed to $6 a barrel in the first half from $9.20 a barrel in the same period a year ago. Owned by Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala and U.S.-based private equity firm the Carlyle Group (CG.O), opens new tab, Moeve rebranded last year to reflect its shift towards low-carbon businesses under an 8-billion-euro plan. It has sold 70% of its oil production assets since 2022, including operations in Abu Dhabi and South America. ($1 = 0.8597 euros)
Reuters
23-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Venezuela's second-largest refinery halted due to power blackout, sources say
June 23 (Reuters) - Venezuela's second-largest refinery, the 310,000-barrel-per-day Cardon plant operated by state company PDVSA, has been halted due to a power blackout, two sources with knowledge of operations said on Monday. Venezuela's aging refining network has frequent outages after years on insufficient investment, mismanagement and U.S. sanctions preventing the import of spare parts. In recent months, Cardon has been key to processing feedstock from some of the Orinoco Belt's heavy crude projects. The blackout began early in the morning and did not affect Cardon's neighboring refinery, the 645,000-bpd Amuay plant, one of the sources said. PDVSA was moving equipment between the two facilities to reestablish power as soon as possible, the second source said.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- News.com.au
French authorities blame sabotage for second power blackout
French authorities on Sunday blamed sabotage and ordered heightened security after a fire at an electricity sub-station in Nice caused the second major power blackout in two days along the Riviera. The latest fire cut power to about 45,000 homes in western Nice for several hours, authorities said. Nice airport was briefly without electricity, the city's deputy mayor Gael Nofri told AFP. A similar arson attack on a power substation on Saturday partially disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival, forcing organisers to use backup generators to keep the event going. Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation and were looking into a claim Sunday by two anarchist groups of "responsibility for the attack on electrical installations on the Cote d'Azur". The claim was posted on an alternative website. "I vigorously condemn these criminal acts hitting our country," Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said on X. "We are making images from our monitoring centre available to investigators and will strengthen the city's network at strategic electrical sites in coming days," he added. "Until the perpetrators of these acts have been arrested, we will not ease up our attention anywhere," Estrosi told reporters. Nice's chief prosecutor Damien Martinelli said studies had been carried out "to clarify the damage and the methods used to carry out the act" and that police were investigating "arson by an organised group". Police said that tyre marks had been found near the Nice transformer and someone had broken into a room in the building. An arson attack at a power substation and a bid to cut the legs of an electricity pylon near Cannes cut power to 160,000 homes in the region for five hours on Saturday. The cut knocked out traffic lights and bank machines in Cannes, as well as threatening the finale to the film festival. The festival "switched to an alternative electricity power supply" to keep the closing ceremony and award events going. Firefighters battled for five hours to put out the flames at the sub-station, officials said. In the attack on the high-voltage pylon, three of its four legs had been damaged, said prosecutors. mla-vxm-alc/djt/jj
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
French authorities blame sabotage for second power blackout
French authorities on Sunday blamed sabotage and ordered heightened security after a fire at an electricity sub-station in Nice caused the second major power blackout in two days along the Riviera. The latest fire cut power to about 45,000 homes in western Nice for several hours, authorities said. Nice airport was briefly without electricity, the city's deputy mayor Gael Nofri told AFP. A similar arson attack on a power substation on Saturday partially disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival, forcing organisers to use backup generators to keep the event going. Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation and were looking into a claim Sunday by two anarchist groups of "responsibility for the attack on electrical installations on the Cote d'Azur". The claim was posted on an alternative website. "I vigorously condemn these criminal acts hitting our country," Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said on X. "We are making images from our monitoring centre available to investigators and will strengthen the city's network at strategic electrical sites in coming days," he added. "Until the perpetrators of these acts have been arrested, we will not ease up our attention anywhere," Estrosi told reporters. Nice's chief prosecutor Damien Martinelli said studies had been carried out "to clarify the damage and the methods used to carry out the act" and that police were investigating "arson by an organised group". Police said that tyre marks had been found near the Nice transformer and someone had broken into a room in the building. An arson attack at a power substation and a bid to cut the legs of an electricity pylon near Cannes cut power to 160,000 homes in the region for five hours on Saturday. The cut knocked out traffic lights and bank machines in Cannes, as well as threatening the finale to the film festival. The festival "switched to an alternative electricity power supply" to keep the closing ceremony and award events going. Firefighters battled for five hours to put out the flames at the sub-station, officials said. In the attack on the high-voltage pylon, three of its four legs had been damaged, said prosecutors. mla-vxm-alc/djt/jj
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Arab News
French authorities blame sabotage for second power blackout
NICE, France: French authorities on Sunday blamed sabotage and ordered heightened security after a fire at an electricity sub-station in Nice caused the second major power blackout in two days along the Riviera. The latest fire cut power to about 45,000 homes in western Nice for several hours, authorities said. Nice airport was briefly without electricity, the city's deputy mayor Gael Nofri told AFP. A similar arson attack on a power substation on Saturday partially disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival, forcing organizers to use backup generators to keep the event going. Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation and were looking into a claim Sunday by two anarchist groups of 'responsibility for the attack on electrical installations on the Cote d'Azur.' The claim was posted on an alternative website. 'I vigorously condemn these criminal acts hitting our country,' Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said on X. 'We are making images from our monitoring center available to investigators and will strengthen the city's network at strategic electrical sites in coming days,' he added. 'Until the perpetrators of these acts have been arrested, we will not ease up our attention anywhere,' Estrosi told reporters. Nice's chief prosecutor Damien Martinelli said studies had been carried out 'to clarify the damage and the methods used to carry out the act' and that police were investigating 'arson by an organized group.' Police said that tire marks had been found near the Nice transformer and someone had broken into a room in the building. An arson attack at a power substation and a bid to cut the legs of an electricity pylon near Cannes cut power to 160,000 homes in the region for five hours on Saturday. The cut knocked out traffic lights and bank machines in Cannes, as well as threatening the finale to the film festival. The festival 'switched to an alternative electricity power supply' to keep the closing ceremony and award events going. Firefighters battled for five hours to put out the flames at the sub-station, officials said. In the attack on the high-voltage pylon, three of its four legs had been damaged, said prosecutors.
