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On Monday, 28 April, a widespread blackout hit Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and the south of France, with power returning to most of Spain and Portugal on Tuesday morning. Red Electricia, Spain’s grid operator, was able to restore most of Spain’s electricity demand by the morning, while Portugal’s equivalent, REN, had 89 power substations online again by late Monday night. The sudden power outage grounded planes, paused public transport, prevented hospitals from providing routine operations, and closed schools and public buildings. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain experienced a sharp loss of 15GW of electricity in five seconds, which is 60% of the country’s entire demand. Finding the cause Authorities have been investigating the cause of the blackout. Initially, Portugal stated that the problem started in Spain. Joao Conceicao, a board member of REN, blamed a “very large oscillation in electrical voltage, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system” However, Spain laid the blame on a break-up in its connection to France, with REE saying: “The extent of the loss of power was beyond what European systems are designed to handle and caused a disconnection of the Spanish and French grids, which in turn led to the collapse of the Spanish electric system.” A cybersecurity attack and sabotage have been widely ruled out as causes. On the broader investigation, Conceicao said: “There could be a thousand and one causes; it’s premature to assess the cause.” The role of renewables Despite a return of 61% of power by late Monday night, some outlets and spokespeople have blamed renewable energy for the damage. Spain receives 56% of its electricity from renewable sources – with solar and wind taking precedence. It is one of Europe’s biggest renewable energy producers. As the effectiveness of these renewable sources can be impacted by weather, debaters have argued that a reliance on renewables compromised Spain’s power systems and made them more vulnerable to blackouts. However, it has also been proposed that the Iberian Peninsula’s poor connections to the European electricity market make the “energy island’s” grid less robust than wider Europe’s. A lack of interconnectivity could make the Peninsula’s grid more vulnerable to internal issues with no external backups. The Centre for European Reform, an independent think tank, explained that reinforcing interconnectivity across Europe’s energy markets – including the Iberian Peninsula – would allow for easier trading of the region’s abundant renewable energy. This could, therefore, reinforce international electricity grids against vulnerabilities. |
