Blackout in Spain and Portugal 'first of its kind', report finds
10 hours ago
- #blackout
- #Spain-Portugal
- #energy-crisis
- A power surge caused a widespread blackout in Spain and Portugal, the most severe in Europe in 20 years and the first caused by overvoltage.
- The blackout lasted nearly a day, disrupting internet, telephone connections, and transport links, affecting Spain, Portugal, and briefly southwestern France.
- The report identified 'cascading overvoltages' as the cause, with automatic defense plans failing to prevent the shutdown.
- Spanish government and private companies blame each other, with Red Eléctrica citing power plants' failure to maintain voltage and utilities blaming poor grid planning.
- The blackout triggered political debates on Spain's energy model, with opposition blaming reliance on renewables and reduced nuclear energy.
- Emergency services responded to trapped individuals in elevators, and hospitals halted routine procedures during the outage.
- A final report on root causes and voltage control actions is expected in Q1 next year.