Extensive Power Outage Sweeps Across Western Europe
Plunged in Darkness: Spain's Nationwide Blackout
On April 28, a whopping power outage swept across Spain at 12:30 local time, causing chaos and confusion in numerous cities. The affected cities included Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, La Coruña, Seville, Tarragona, Castellón, and more. The pandemonium also stretched to Portugal, southern France, and even Andorra, as mobile phone signals got disrupted, roads' traffic lights malfunctioned, and hospitals faced challenges.
Hospitals, running on generators, and businesses that lost power were forced to close their doors. Tennis matches at the Mutua Madrid Open were suspended. The déjà vu of such a widespread shutdown reminded everyone of the 2007 blackout that hit much of North America. La Vanguardia disclosed that three reactors at the Ascó and Vandellós nuclear power plants were halted, but they confirmed it was a safety shutdown.
Spain's entire railway network ground to a halt when many trains were stopped, even high-speed trains enroute from Madrid to Valencia. Public transportation, including madrid's metro and Barcelona's metro, screeched to a halt. The airport operator AENA reported "some incidents" at airports nationwide.
The cause of this electrifying disaster remains a mystery. Spanish power grid operator Red Eléctrica reported a staggering number of people without power and communication disruptions. After addressing the issue, the company clarified they had started restoring power in the north and south of the Iberian Peninsula. Authorities in Andalusia didn't rule out the possibility of a cyberattack causing the outage.
Portugal wasn't spared either, according to Reuters, reporting traffic lights malfunctioning nationwide, and the metro being shut down in Lisbon and Porto. Some regions in southern France linked to the Spanish grid and Andorra were also impacted. Euronews implied a potential source of the outage could be a fire on the southwest coast of France that damaged a high-voltage power line between Perpignan and the eastern part of Narbonne.
This unexpected blackout was later attributed to a "very strong oscillation" in the electrical network, causing Spain's power system to disconnect from the European grid, leading to the downfall of the Iberian electricity network at approximately 12:38 local time[2]. Despite the initial chaos, Spain and Portugal have been able to restore their critical services, and life has slowly returned to normal.
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[1] About the Extent and Cause of the April 28 Power Outage in Spain, Portugal, and Southern France. geektime.com, 2022.[2] Eduardo Prieto, Director of Red Eléctrica, explains the cause of the April 28 Power Outage. Marca.com, 2022.
- The power outage that swept through Spain on April 28 affected cities beyond Madrid, also impacting Barcelona, Valencia, La Coruña, Seville, Tarragona, Castellón, and more.
- Hospitals in some affected cities continued running due to the use of generators, but businesses and tennis matches, like those at the Mutua Madrid Open, were forced to cancel.
- The environmental-science and technology fields, along with political circles, have shown keen interest in the incidents surrounding this power outage, with questions about its cause and the role of cyberattacks or energy distribution systems remaining unanswered.
- In the aftermath, general-news outlets like La Vanguardia and Reuters reported that Portugal and southern France were also affected, with some regions experiencing disrupted traffic lights and metro service.
- Although numerous incidents occurred due to the power outage, Spain and Portugal have since restored their critical services, allowing life to return slowly to normal.
