Chaos in Spain and Portugal After Massive Power Outage
Countries Rapidly Undertaking Necessary Repairs to Crucial Infrastructure Following Indiscriminate Power Failure in Spain and Portugal
The authorities in Spain and Portugal were in a frenzy on Tuesday, trying to get things back to normal after a massive power outage crippled both countries on Monday.
Disruption continued in Madrid, Barcelona, and other cities, causing havoc in transport and communications. The power outage, which paralyzed a significant portion of Spain and Portugal, has left thousands of travelers stranded and passengers stuck on trains well into the night.
By 7 am local time on Tuesday, Spain's grid operator, Red Eléctrica, reported that almost 100% of energy demand had been restored. The operator continues to work on achieving "complete normalization" of the system. The Portuguese government reported that power had been fully restored across the country, and Lisbon's metro, which had been halted, resumed services on Tuesday.
King Felipe convenes a meeting of Spain's security council later on Tuesday morning to address the situation. The council has declared a state of emergency in response to the power failure.
According to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the power outage occurred when 15 Gigawatts of power supply, equivalent to 60% of the nationwide demand, were lost in just five seconds on Monday. The cause of the power cut remains unknown. Sánchez noted, "This has never happened before."
The opposition leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, criticized Sánchez for a lack of communication regarding the power crisis. Feijóo contended that the government was "still overwhelmed" over 20 hours after the outage. Additionally, Feijóo attacked the government's plan to phase out nuclear power, arguing that the country's electricity system is burdened by an "enormous ideological weight," making it more vulnerable to fluctuations in renewable power supply.
Some services, such as trains between Madrid and Barcelona and most metro services in Madrid, resumed on Tuesday. However, suburban trains around Barcelona remained suspended due to erratic power supply, and there were no trains at all in Galicia, located in the northwest of the country. Aena, Spain's biggest airport operator, warned of continued disruption, although flight cancellations at Madrid and Barcelona significantly decreased from Monday.
Portugal's electricity distribution network operator, E-Redes, reported restoring power for 6.2 million of its 6.5 million customers.
The power outage highlights the challenges encountered when relying heavily on renewable energy. Although Spain generates 43% of its power from wind and solar, the rapid development of renewable energy has not been matched by an increase in grid and storage capacity. Special attention should be given to addressing the inertia deficit of renewables, improving interconnection limits, and incorporating advanced grid management tools, energy storage, and flexible gas/hydro backup to manage intermittent renewable generation more effectively.
Additional reporting by Philip Georgiadis in London
Sources:1. Red Electrica de España2. BBC News3. Portuguese Radiocommunications Agency (ARCP)4. Energy Central
In the dispute about Spain's energy policy, opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo critiques the government for its plan to phase out nuclear power, claiming it places an "enormous ideological weight" on the electricity system, making it more susceptible to issues like the recent massive blackout. The normalization process, following the blackout that crippled Spain and Portugal, has been complicated due to the reliance on renewables, as improvements in interconnections, grid management, energy storage, and flexible backup systems are needed to effectively manage intermittent renewable generation. This general news event has also highlighted the need for better communication from political leaders during such crises, as noted by Feijoo's criticism of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
