Just a week ago, the country faced a blackout due to an energy cut, resulting in Portugal suspending electricity imports from Spain, a situation that remains unchanged. The Portuguese electrical grid operator, REN, has indicated that imports are expected to resume by May 7.
When asked why the imports have not yet resumed, REN referred to a statement on their website, which mentioned the ongoing “process of restoring service initiated on the day of the incident and the stabilization process currently underway,” without providing further details.
Reports suggest that this suspension is costing Portuguese consumers millions of euros, as they are unable to take advantage of the lower wholesale prices in neighboring Spain.
Last week, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro assured that the government is working to enhance the prevention and resilience capacity of the electrical network, emphasizing the importance of interconnections with Europe to reduce dependency on Spain.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the origin of the blackout was not linked to the Portuguese electrical grid. Given Portugal’s sole connection to Spain, it is presumed that the issue originated there, possibly due to “an abrupt increase in voltage in the Spanish electrical network,” the cause of which remains unknown.
On Monday, it was reported that Spanish authorities identified a third generation loss in the south of the country 19 seconds before last week’s blackout, as revealed by the energy minister, Sara Aagasen.
Sara Aagasen stated that over 700 million data points from all operators in the Spanish electric system are being examined to identify “atypical situations.” She stressed that all possibilities, including a cyberattack, remain under consideration.
Last week, Red Eléctrica ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack on the company; however, the Spanish government maintains that all options remain open, noting the presence of dozens of operators within the electrical system and “more than 30 operational centers” nationwide.
A widespread power outage affected Portugal and Spain for approximately 10 to 11 hours on Monday, with no explanation yet offered by the authorities.
Consequences of the blackout included closed airports, transport and traffic congestion in major cities, and fuel shortages.
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity announced the establishment of a committee last week to investigate the “exceptional and serious” blackout in the Iberian Peninsula.
The organization stated it would “investigate the root causes, conduct a comprehensive analysis, and provide recommendations in a final report.”
