Latest news with #Socialist-led
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain says 'overvoltage' caused huge April blackout
A major power outage that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula in April was caused by "overvoltage" on the grid that triggered "a chain reaction", according to a government report released Tuesday. The April 28 blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters, adding that the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. Potential causes include surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage, protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name that disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, insisting that Spain's grid was theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. Asked if the head of the grid operator should resign, Aagesen said the report was "not any kind of trial. It set out to determine the causes and to make recommendations". Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months given the complexity of the incident. The government, which has been mired in a corruption scandal involving a close aide of Sanchez, sped up the timeline in recent days. The commission of inquiry has met three times since Friday to prepare the publication of the report. - 'Deficiencies' - Following the outage, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production. These theories were again dismissed by Aagesen on Tuesday, though she acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis. According to Sarah Brown, Europe programme director at the energy think tank Ember, "renewables played a crucial role in restoring system stability and getting the power back on so quickly", dismissing what she called "unhelpful and inaccurate speculation" blaming wind and solar power. The blackout "reinforces what we already knew. As power systems evolve, enhanced grid optimisation and flexibility are essential for resilience", she said in a note. Among the government report's recommendations is the need for stronger supervision and compliance requirements for operators, increasing the country's overall electrical capacity and boosting Spain's electricity connections with neighbouring countries. The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power. The European Investment Bank on Monday announced 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, which would almost double power exchange capacity. du-vab/imm/js
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
'Overvoltage' Caused April Blackout, Spain Says
A major power outage that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula in April was caused by "overvoltage" on the grid that triggered "a chain reaction", according to a government report released Tuesday. The blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters, adding the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. It can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage on networks protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of the Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name which disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, stressing that Spain's grid is theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. "What we're talking about here is an analysis report, it's not any kind of trial. It set out to determine the causes and to make recommendations," the minister said when asked if the head of the grid operator should resign. Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the April 28 outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months, given the complexity of the incident. The government, which has been mired in a corruption scandal involving a close aide of Sanchez, sped up the timeline in recent days. The commission of inquiry has met three times since Friday to prepare the publication of the report. - 'Deficiencies' - Following the outage, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production. These theories were again dismissed on Tuesday by Aagesen, who nonetheless acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis. Among the report's recommendations is the need for stronger supervision and compliance requirements on operators, increasing the country's overall electrical capacity and boosting Spain's electricity connections with neighbouring countries. The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power. The European Investment Bank on Monday announced 1.6 billion euros of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, which will almost double power exchange capacity. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Local Spain
5 days ago
- Politics
- Local Spain
Spain finally says what caused its huge nationwide blackout
The blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters following a cabinet meeting, adding the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. It can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage on networks protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of the Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name which disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, stressing that Spain's grid is theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the April 28th outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months, given the complexity of the incident. Following the incident, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production -- both quickly ruled out by the authorities. These theories were again dismissed on Tuesday by Aagesen, who nonetheless acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. She said corrective measures would be proposed. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis.
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Spain Says 'Overvoltage' Caused Huge April Blackout
A major power outage that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula in April was caused by "overvoltage" on the grid that triggered "a chain reaction", according to a government report released Tuesday. The blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters, adding the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. It can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage on networks protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of the Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name which disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, stressing that Spain's grid is theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. "What we're talking about here is an analysis report, it's not any kind of trial. It set out to determine the causes and to make recommendations," the minister said when asked if the head of the grid operator should resign. Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the April 28 outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months, given the complexity of the incident. The government, which has been mired in a corruption scandal involving a close aide of Sanchez, sped up the timeline in recent days. The commission of inquiry has met three times since Friday to prepare the publication of the report. Following the outage, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production. These theories were again dismissed on Tuesday by Aagesen, who nonetheless acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis. Among the report's recommendations is the need for stronger supervision and compliance requirements on operators, increasing the country's overall electrical capacity and boosting Spain's electricity connections with neighbouring countries. The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power. The European Investment Bank on Monday announced 1.6 billion euros of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, which will almost double power exchange capacity. A pedestrian uses a flashlight to walk in a street of Barcelona on April 28, 2025 AFP High-voltage transmission towers carrying electricity from Spain to Portugal are pictured near the border, in Lindoso, Portugal, on April 28, 2025 AFP
Express Tribune
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Tens of thousands rally in Spain for PM Sanchez to resign over corruption
People take part in a demonstration organised by the main opposition conservative People's Party against the Socialist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez under the motto 'Democracy or Mafia' in Madrid, Spain on June 8, 2025. PHOTO: DW Listen to article Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Madrid on Sunday in a rally organised by Spain's conservative opposition, accusing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Socialist-led government of corruption and demanding early elections. Protesters waving Spanish flags and chanting 'Pedro Sánchez, resign!' filled Plaza de España, responding to a call from the Popular Party (PP). The rally follows leaked audio recordings that allegedly implicate a former Socialist Party member, Leire Díez, in efforts to discredit police investigations into corruption claims involving Sánchez's wife, brother, and former minister José Luis Ábalos. Díez has denied the allegations, insisting she was conducting research for a book and was not acting on behalf of the government. She has since resigned from the Socialist Workers' Party. Speaking at the rally, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused Sánchez's administration of 'mafia practices' and declared: 'This government has stained everything – politics, state institutions, the separation of powers.' The PP claimed over 100,000 people attended the demonstration under the slogan 'Mafia or Democracy', though officials from the central government put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000. The Sánchez government has been rocked by several corruption-related controversies in recent months, most notably the so-called 'Koldo Case' – an alleged scheme involving inflated COVID-era public contracts for medical supplies. The case centres on Koldo García Izaguirre, a former adviser to Sánchez's then-transport minister Ábalos. García is accused of using political connections to steer contracts towards favoured companies in exchange for large commissions. In April 2024, Sánchez briefly considered resigning after a Madrid court opened an investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, on suspicion of influence peddling and business corruption. The accusations stemmed from a complaint by right-wing group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), which claims Gómez used her position to benefit certain companies. Sánchez has strongly denied any wrongdoing by himself or his inner circle, describing the investigations and leaks as part of a coordinated right-wing smear campaign aimed at destabilising his administration. But with public anger growing and political pressure mounting, the PP is hoping to capitalise on the unrest. Despite the controversies, Spain's next general election is not due until 2027, though recent polls suggest the PP has a slight edge over Sánchez's Socialist Party. 'The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago,' protester Blanca Requejo, 46, told AFP. 'It's getting tiring.' Sánchez came to power in 2018 after ousting former PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote triggered by a separate corruption scandal.
