Interconnections, energy mix: the Spanish electricity network under the microscope
While the causes of the phenomenal power outage that hit the Iberian Peninsula on April 28 remain unknown, all eyes are on the Spanish grid in an attempt to identify its flaws. Here are the details.
A frantic quest is underway to understand the causes of the massive power outage that affected millions of Spaniards and Portuguese on Monday, April 28. No leads can be ruled out, Spanish authorities have warned. And the answer could have repercussions throughout Europe.
"The European Union demanded that the Iberian Peninsula, which has long operated as a veritable energy island, connect more effectively to European grids," Politico reports . It is currently unclear whether a broader connection to other countries would have prevented the blackout or whether, on the contrary, it would have exposed them more, through a domino effect, to the risk of blackouts, as was the case in a small part of France and the principality of Andorra.
According to Eduardo Prieto, director of the Spanish electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica, the outage was caused by "a very strong oscillation on the electricity network" which caused "Spain to be disconnected from the European system and the collapse of the electricity network across the entire peninsula at 12:38 p.m." The exact cause of this strong oscillation remains to be understood.
“In the absence of a thorough investigation, everything
Courrier International
