A power surge that caused a widespread blackout in Spain and Portugal was the most severe in Europe in the last 20 years, and the first of its kind, a report has found. Damian Cortinas, president of the association of electricity grid operators Entso-e, stated this incident was the first known blackout caused by overvoltage, which occurs when an electrical network experiences excessive voltage.
The blackout occurred in April, affecting large parts of both countries and briefly interrupting services in southwestern France. Significant disruptions ensued, including internet and telephone connectivity losses and halted transport links. Cortinas noted, This is new territory, indicating the complexity of the situation while refraining from assigning blame to any party involved.
A report released on Friday detailed a series of cascading overvoltages leading to the outage, emphasizing that these can originate from supply surges or insufficient protective equipment. Despite automatic defence plans being activated, the blackout could not be avoided. The Spanish government is conducting separate investigations, asserting these findings align with their conclusions regarding the role of national and private electricity providers.
Sara Aagesen, the minister for ecological transition, backed this viewpoint, declaring it coincidental with earlier conclusions that pointed fingers at both electricity companies and grid providers. Yet, these entities have defended themselves, indicating that failures from coal, gas, and nuclear facilities contributed to the voltage issues.
This outage has provoked political discourse regarding Spain's renewable energy reliance and the diminishing role of nuclear energy in the grid. The blackout caused chaos during a Madrid tennis match, shut down various operations, and resulted in emergency responses to trapped individuals during the outage.
Collectively, the incident highlights ongoing discussions about the stability of Spain's energy framework as further investigations continue to unravel the specifics of this unprecedented event.
The blackout occurred in April, affecting large parts of both countries and briefly interrupting services in southwestern France. Significant disruptions ensued, including internet and telephone connectivity losses and halted transport links. Cortinas noted, This is new territory, indicating the complexity of the situation while refraining from assigning blame to any party involved.
A report released on Friday detailed a series of cascading overvoltages leading to the outage, emphasizing that these can originate from supply surges or insufficient protective equipment. Despite automatic defence plans being activated, the blackout could not be avoided. The Spanish government is conducting separate investigations, asserting these findings align with their conclusions regarding the role of national and private electricity providers.
Sara Aagesen, the minister for ecological transition, backed this viewpoint, declaring it coincidental with earlier conclusions that pointed fingers at both electricity companies and grid providers. Yet, these entities have defended themselves, indicating that failures from coal, gas, and nuclear facilities contributed to the voltage issues.
This outage has provoked political discourse regarding Spain's renewable energy reliance and the diminishing role of nuclear energy in the grid. The blackout caused chaos during a Madrid tennis match, shut down various operations, and resulted in emergency responses to trapped individuals during the outage.
Collectively, the incident highlights ongoing discussions about the stability of Spain's energy framework as further investigations continue to unravel the specifics of this unprecedented event.
