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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-What caused the Iberian power outage and what happens next?
FILE PHOTO: Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity are seen during sunset at an electricity substation on the outskirts of Ronda, during a blackout in the city, Spain April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo Explainer-What caused the Iberian power outage and what happens next? LONDON - Spain's government and its grid operator have issued separate findings into the causes that led to the massive blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, which caused gridlock in cities and left thousands stranded on trains and in elevators across the Iberian Peninsula. WHAT CAUSED THE BLACKOUT? The Spanish government said in a report on Tuesday that Spain's grid operator Redeia miscalculated the correct mix of energy in the system. The government also blamed some conventional power plants, or thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level and as a result, the grid was unable to cope with a surge in voltage that triggered a cascade of power plant disconnections, ultimately leading to the outage. Voltage - the force that drives electric current - must be kept within a safe range to maintain grid stability. Redeia said on Wednesday that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage but blamed it on conventional power plants failing to control the voltage level. It pointed instead to anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 and an unexpected spike in electricity demand from the transport network. Redeia rejected the claim that its energy mix miscalculation was a key factor. WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED? Grid operators typically use a raft of tools to ensure power systems have the right frequency, voltage and supply to keep them stable. The government report said the number of generators the grid had available to provide voltage control on April 28 was lower than it had in previous weeks and that not all units that should have responded did so as expected. The companies operating the plants that failed to ensure the proper voltage controls have not been named and Redeia's report also did not identify them. Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told a news briefing in Madrid that the grid operator did not have enough capacity to regulate voltage. However, Redeia's operations chief Concha Sanchez said on Wednesday that based on the grid's calculations the grid had planned adequate voltage support, but some plants did not respond as expected. WHERE RENEWABLES TO BLAME? No. Both the government and Redeia said renewable energy sources were not responsible for the blackout. Spain is one of Europe's biggest producers of renewableenergy and has a high share of solar power, which accounted for 59% of the country's electricity at the time of the blackout. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout," Redeia's Sanchez said. DID THE FRENCH POWER LINK PLAY A ROLE? At the time of the outage, Spain was also exporting power to France and Portugal. Energy Minister Aagesen explained that at 12:03 p.m., an "atypical" oscillation was detected in the power system. In response, the grid operator implemented standard control procedures, including reducing electricity exports to France. While these actions successfully mitigated the oscillation, they also caused a secondary effect: an increase in voltage, according to the report. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The government said on Tuesday it will propose measures to strengthen the grid and improve voltage control. It also plans to better integrate the peninsula with the European grid, it said. Redeia said it will issue its full report later on Wednesday. The government report will go to the European Network of Transmission System Operators which is doing its own inquiry. Any parties found responsible for the blackout may be liable for losses incurred during the outage, subject to any legal action. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Climate
- Straits Times
Spanish power grid's lack of control over voltage led to blackout
FILE PHOTO: Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity are seen during sunset at an electricity substation on the outskirts of Ronda, during a blackout in the city, Spain April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/ File Photo MADRID - Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen said on Tuesday the chain reaction that led to the massive blackout that hit Spain and Portugal on April 28 was due to the power grid's lack of capacity to control grid voltage. She said some power plants in the country were not regulating the grid's voltage as required by law in the moments before the blackout, an investigation carried out by her services found. The extensive report of the investigation will be made public later on Tuesday afternoon, she said in a news briefing held in Madrid on Tuesday. The investigation found no evidence of a cyberattack, she added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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First Post
4 days ago
- General
- First Post
UK maritime firm says it is aware of incident east of UAE's Khor Fakkan
The event unfolded as tensions escalated between Israel and Iran, with both nations exchanging attacks for a fifth consecutive day following Israel's widescale strikes on Friday aimed at preventing Tehran from building an atomic weapon read more FILE PHOTO: A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca British maritime security firm Ambrey said early on Tuesday the cause of an incident 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, near the Strait of Hormuz, was not security-related. It didn't provide any details about the incident. The event unfolded as tensions escalated between Israel and Iran, with both nations exchanging attacks for a fifth consecutive day following Israel's widescale strikes on Friday aimed at preventing Tehran from building an atomic weapon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. About a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait. Between the start of 2022 and last month, roughly 17.8 million to 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through the strait daily, according to data from Vortexa. There was no immediate response to Reuters' request for comment from the Emirati foreign ministry or Khor Fakkan container terminal in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Star
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Telefonica investigates potential cyberattack after release of data from Peru
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Spanish Telecom company Telefonica is seen on a satellite transmission van, in Malaga, Spain November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Telefonica said on Tuesday it was looking into a potential cyberattack after data allegedly belonging to one million customers in Peru was released on an internet forum. "We are investigating an alleged security breach. The sample released by the actor, which comprises 1 million records, seems to correspond to customers in Peru," a Telefonica spokesperson said. According to a post on X by HackManac - an account tracking cyberattacks around the world - a group calling itself "Dedale" was offering a database containing information on approximately 22 million Telefonica customers. The self-declared hackers have released a sample of 1 million records it said belonged to Telefonica customers in Peru as proof, although the Spanish company has exited the South American country two months ago. In April, Telefonica sold its troubled Peruvian unit to Argentine company Integra Tec International for about 900,000 euros ($1.03 million). ($1 = 0.8768 euros) (Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by David Latona)
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Granada substation power loss pinpointed as origin of massive blackout in Spain, Portugal
People walk along a shopping street without electric lighting as police cars patrol to prevent theft and looting in the stores during a power outage which hit large parts of Spain, in Ronda, Spain April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo MADRID - An abrupt loss of power generation at a substation in Granada, followed by failures seconds later in Badajoz and Seville, triggered an unprecedented blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, Spain's energy minister said on Wednesday. Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told lawmakers that the three initial incidents, whose cause has yet to be determined, led to a generation loss of 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, which triggered a series of grid disconnections. Several investigations are looking into the power outage, but it is the first time Spanish authorities have pointed to a specific origin. Establishing the cause of the outage will take time and there will likely be no simple answers to what appears to be a complex issue, Aagesen said. "We are analysing millions of pieces of data. We also continue to make progress in identifying where these generation losses occurred and we already know that they started in Granada, Badajoz and Seville," Aagesen said. She said the government's investigation is also looking at reports by operators of volatility in the days before the blackout and is examining excessive voltage as one possible cause for the loss of generation. Investigators, Aagesen said, had ruled out any cyberattack on grid operator REE, an imbalance in supply and demand or insufficient grid capacity. She also denied suggestions by some opposition lawmakers that the government had received and ignored warnings from experts that a major blackout could occur, adding that it would be premature to attribute responsibilities until it's known what happened that day. "There was no alert, no warning," she said. Spain's use of renewable energy as an increasing part of its electricity generation has come under scrutiny since the blackout, as has its plan to phase out nuclear energy by 2035. Critics have said that one possible contributor to the outage may have been a lack of so-called "grid inertia" because of the relatively small share of nuclear and fossil fuel generation in Spain's power mix. Aagesen defended the government's energy policy, saying that renewables have lowered bills for households and businesses and will allow Spain to attract more investment while providing more energy autonomy at a time of geopolitical instability. Spain's electricity system continues to use the same level of renewables as it did before and during the outage, she said. "A mix with more renewables reduces external risks. It enables us to anticipate, adapt to, and respond quickly to any eventuality." Aagesen signalled openness to extending the life of nuclear plants, but only if operators could guarantee their security and acceptable prices for consumers, and if this could be shown to contribute to security of supply. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
