Madrid: Spain’s national electricity grid operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), announced on Tuesday that a preliminary investigation had ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the massive blackout that plunged much of Spain and Portugal into darkness on Monday afternoon.
The power outage, which began at 12:33 p.m. local time (1033 GMT), marked the most extensive blackout ever recorded in the Iberian Peninsula. Power supply was only restored several hours later, with much of the region remaining without electricity until the evening.
Speaking at a news briefing, Eduardo Prieto, REE’s System Operations Chief, explained that the blackout was triggered by a sudden and severe loss of electricity generation in southwestern Spain. This disruption created instability in the grid and led to an automatic disconnection from the French electricity system, which supports cross-border power balancing in Europe.
“It is quite possible that the affected generation was solar,” Prieto stated, although he cautioned that it was still too early to confirm the exact source of the disruption.
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Despite the scale of the incident, Prieto assured the public that the grid has returned to stable operation. “The system is now stable and working normally,” he said.
The investigation into the root cause of the power loss remains ongoing, with a full technical analysis expected to follow. Authorities and energy experts are closely monitoring developments, particularly given the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources in Spain’s power mix.
