Spain's grid operator disputes miscalculation in blackout report
A view shows Santa Llogaia electrical sub-station connected to the interconnection grid between France and Spain that tripped after a sudden, large drop in power supply and caused the major blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, in the village of Santa Llogaia d'Alguema, near Figueres, Spain April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas/File Photo
MADRID - Spanish grid operator Redeia disputed the findings of a government report that said failure by the operator to calculate the correct mix of energy was one of the factors that led to a massive blackout in Spain and Portugal on April 28.
Redeia operations chief Concha Sanchez also told a news briefing on Wednesday its own investigation had discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, as well as an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network.
Then, in the first seconds of the blackout, a combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected when it should not have, she said.
"Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout."
The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage.
According to Redeia's Sanchez, the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout.
Redeia will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
NBA star Durant invests in PSG as French club plan basketball future
FILE PHOTO: May 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Kevin Durant attends a WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and LA Sparks at Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS NBA star Kevin Durant has purchased a minority stake in French soccer club Paris St Germain, the Champions League winners said on Friday, and the Phoenix Suns forward will provide expertise on their planned expansion into basketball. Durant, two-time NBA champion and four-time Olympic gold medallist, has signed a share purchase and strategic partnership agreement with PSG's majority shareholder Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), through his company Boardroom. "It is an honour to partner with QSI and to be a shareholder of Paris St Germain, a club and a city that is deeply close to my heart," Durant, who won gold at the Paris Olympics last year, said. "This club has big plans and I look forward to being part of the next phase of growth and exploring new investment opportunities with QSI." One of those opportunities is likely to come in the world of basketball, with PSG already involved in early-stage talks with the NBA regarding potential investment and venues for a new basketball league in Europe. Durant, who had already forged a link with PSG through the club's minority shareholder Arctos Partners, will partner on a wide range of commercial, investment and content production initiatives. The 36-year-old will also support the club in its strategy of diversification and growth on sporting and commercial fronts, including developing the club's strategy in the United States and other international markets. PSG said in their release that Durant would provide "expertise on PSG's multi-sport strategy, particularly regarding future projects in the field of basketball". Durant was recently included in Forbes' 2025 list of the world's highest-paid athletes, coming in at number 10 with earnings of $101.4 million. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Moscow promises to closely monitor foreign businesses that return to Russia
Russia's President Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Bahrain's National Security Advisor Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile attend a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Russia's Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, who has led the state's efforts to seize property worth 2.4 trillion roubles ($31 billion), on Friday said foreign companies that return to the country would be watched closely to ensure Russia benefited. Moscow has placed around a dozen foreign-owned assets under state management in the more than three years that Russia has been fighting in Ukraine and prosecutors have stepped up the seizure of domestic assets through the courts this year. Now, as the economy begins to slow after two years of growth fuelled by high military spending, Russian officials are trying to find the balance between insulating the economy from exposure to Western nations it considers unfriendly and the need for growth to keep funding the conflict in Ukraine. "We will closely follow the government's actions," Krasnov said. "That is, who will come... on what terms they will come." "We will definitely look at making sure that the conditions under which our (Russian) business operates are better (when Western business returns)," Krasnov said. It must be profitable for Russia's own firms, he said. Russia is prioritising domestic companies, some of whom have taken market share vacated by Western firms, such as McDonald's and Unilever, that have left since Russia launched the conflict in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin on Friday said the Russian economy could not develop effectively without investment and said Moscow would create conditions to make foreign partners feel comfortable. He said Russian companies should fulfil legally binding buybacks with foreign companies, but stressed that Russia would support measures that benefit its own interests. "If someone left for political reasons, under pressure from their own political elites, their countries, then this means they are unreliable partners," Putin said. WESTERN FIRMS ABSENT Kirill Dmitriev, chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, has said that U.S. companies are in talks to return to Russia, although lawyers and investors have told Reuters that sanctions must be lifted before any significant influx can take place. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the Izvestia daily on Friday that no foreign companies had yet submitted requests to return. "There are no applications for entry yet, but I feel that the situation is changing and interest in investing in Russia is growing," Siluanov said. The sparse Western presence at Russia's forum suggests otherwise, with some analysts also pointing to concerns about property rights. Two sources from Russia's energy and banking sectors said some companies may be interested in returning as there could be money to be made, but not in the current situation. Assets owned by French yoghurt maker Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg are among the foreign assets taken under state control and sold to Kremlin-friendly buyers since 2022. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Latvian president believes NATO will overcome obstacles, meet 5% goal
RIGA - Latvia's president expressed confidence NATO would agree to a new higher defence spending target demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump, despite Spanish objections, saying the alliance had little choice given the growing threat from Russia. Spain on Thursday asked to opt out of the plan to increase members' defence spending to 5% of their gross domestic product, as requested by Trump, a move which could derail next week's NATO summit at the Hague. Any agreement to raise defence spending needs unanimous approval by the 32 member states. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told Reuters on Friday he understood why countries further from Russia might have difficulties convincing their voters to spend more on defence. But he said the need was pressing. 'I do hope there is the understanding in Madrid that this is a critical time for the Alliance, both when it comes to (increasing) its defence capabilities, but also to the Trans-Atlantic relationship,' he said in an interview in Riga. 'I think that they don't have much of a choice,' he added. At an estimated 1.28% of GDP, Spain had the lowest proportion of expenditure on defence in the alliance last year, according to NATO estimates. Latvia and fellow Baltic states Lithuania and Estonia are urgently ramping up their militaries, fearing that their neighbour and former overlord Russia could push on from its 2022 invasion of Ukraine to take more territory. They spent more than 3% of GDP on defence this year, and have committed to top 5% for the next few years. "We are saying that we need to spend as soon as possible now in order to avoid a worst-case scenario, spending much more later," Rinkevics said. "While Russia is stuck in Ukraine, that possibility of a direct military attack is not very high," he said. "But it may change very, very quickly ... if a development in Ukraine leads Russian leadership to believe that NATO is weak, that Ukraine is defeated, that NATO is divided". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
