Madrid [Spain], April 30: Portugal and Spain announced yesterday that they had almost completely restored the power system, after a widespread power outage in Europe forced the governments of the two Iberian Peninsula countries to declare a state of emergency.
According to AFP, Portugal's National Energy Network Agency (REN) announced yesterday afternoon that the electricity supply in the country was operating normally and fully stable. Similarly, Spain's Red Electrica said yesterday that most areas across the country already have electricity, along with which public transport routes are back in operation. On social networks, images of people in the capital Madrid (Spain) pouring into the streets to celebrate when electricity was available. Crowds that had to wait at train stations for hours were also able to start moving. Some areas are still experiencing service disruptions.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the incident that occurred on the afternoon of April 28 lost 15 GW of electricity, or 60% of the country's electricity demand, in just 5 seconds. The incident paralyzed the public transportation system and mobile services, banking, and online payments for hours. Meanwhile, when asked about the cause of the power outage, REN officials said there was a possibility of abnormal voltage fluctuations in Spain, causing the entire system to collapse and the effect spreading to neighboring Portugal.
The Guardian quoted Portuguese Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz yesterday as reaffirming that the incident originated outside Portuguese territory. A small region of France was also affected by the power outage but quickly recovered.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said there was no indication that this was a cyberattack, but Lisbon stressed that a comprehensive investigation would be needed to reach a final conclusion. REN director Joao Faria Conceicao said Portugal was severely affected by the country's imports of electricity from Spain in the morning. At the same time, importing solar power from Spain in the above time frame is also more cost-effective. Pedro Sanchez said this was an incident on an unprecedented scale and would direct a thorough investigation.
The government and businesses are starting the process of assessing the losses caused by the incident. In Spain, the blackout has also sparked debate about the green energy transition. About 56% of electricity used in Spain last year was renewable. This fact helps Madrid reduce its dependence on imported electricity, but also sets requirements for large investments in the distribution system to ensure the stability of renewable electricity. According to Reuters, the above incident will become a matter of research on the durability of the renewable energy system, as well as the ability to restore power in the event of a large-scale power outage.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper