Mystery persists over power outage in Spain and Portugal as cyber assaults are dismissed as cause
Fresh Take:
Spanish Power Outage: No Sign of Cyberattack, Says REE
In a turn of events, Spanish power grid operator REE has stated that preliminary investigations suggest Monday's massive power outage in Spain and Portugal wasn't due to a cyberattack.
EEE's head of system operations, Eduardo Prieto, affirmed at a briefing that the power supply system is currently stable and running smoothly. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced earlier that 99.95% of power consumption has been restored, and 100% of substations are back online.
At a press conference, Sánchez praised the assistance from France and Morocco in providing Spain with electricity and reiterated that the government will "demand accountability from private operators." The PM also noted that there were no issues with access to renewable energy sources during the outage. Sánchez squashed rumors of a terrorist attack, stating no convincing evidence to support this claim.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Monteiro hinted at the cause of the blackout possibly originating in Spain. The Spanish National Meteorological Agency Aemet, however, dismissed claims of unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena causing the power outage.
Spanish REE believes that the power outage started in the southwest region of the country. Two consecutive "power cut events" occurred on Monday, according to REE's head of operations department, Eduardo Prieto. The systems initially managed the first incident but were unable to recover from the second, leading to widespread power outages. The exact cause remains under investigation.
Some experts speculate that the cause could have been a lack of power generation consistency among various components of the system, known as "system inertia." The power outage occurred on most of the Iberian Peninsula on Monday, forcing both countries to declare a state of emergency.
The incident echoes recent European concerns about grid vulnerabilities following a power disruption in the UK earlier. The outage in Spain and Portugal marked as one of the most serious episodes in Europe in recent times, according to EU energy officials.
Enrichment Data:- The power outage in Spain and Portugal was caused by an "exceptional and extraordinary" unspecified strong oscillation in the European grid, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.- Efforts for power restoration included prioritizing regions like Catalonia, Andalucía, Basque Country, and Castille and León, with full recovery expected in 6-10 hours.- Interagency coordination was essential during the emergency, with emergency services urging the public to avoid speculation and reserve calls for critical needs. EU energy officials labeled the outage as one of the most serious episodes in Europe in recent times.
- The power outage in Spain and Portugal was probably not a result of a cyberattack, as suggested by REE, but rather an exceptional and extraordinary unspecified strong oscillation in the European grid, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
- Despite the power outage, politics remained steady, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez demanding accountability from private operators and reiterating that there were no issues with access to renewable energy sources during the outage.
- In terms of general-news, the power outage marked as one of the most serious episodes in Europe in recent times, according to EU energy officials, with efforts for power restoration prioritizing regions like Catalonia, Andalucía, Basque Country, and Castille and León, with full recovery expected in 6-10 hours.
- While some experts speculate that the cause could have been a lack of power generation consistency among various components of the system, known as "system inertia," the Iberian Peninsula's power outage echoes recent European concerns about grid vulnerabilities, following a power disruption in the UK earlier.
