A widespread power outage that affected large parts of Spain and Portugal was triggered by two consecutive disconnection events on the electricity grid, according to a preliminary assessment by Spain’s electricity system operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE).
Speaking to reporters during a media briefing, an REE official said the events caused disruptions to the network, including a temporary loss of interconnection with France. While the cause of the generation loss is still under investigation, the official noted that solar power may have been involved, but further analysis is required.
“The grid managed to recover from the first event but the second was more damaging,” the official said, adding that the second failure led to cascading effects that forced additional generators offline and resulted in a complete temporary loss of power supply.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated there was “no problem with excess renewables on the system” and confirmed that the incident is still under investigation.
Some reports have suggested a significant drop in renewable energy output followed the disruption of cross-border connections with France, though REE has not yet confirmed this detail.
Authorities have ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack. REE emphasised that the findings remain preliminary and a more comprehensive report will follow.
