The European Union is poised to support a comprehensive investigation into the recent power outage that affected Spain and Portugal. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen made this announcement via the social media platform X.
“The energy situation in Spain and Portugal has stabilized,” Jørgensen noted, highlighting that this incident marks the most severe power failure in Europe in nearly two decades.
“We stand ready to assist Spain and Portugal in any way needed, including initiating a thorough investigation,” he added.
The outage has sparked worries regarding the possibility of similar incidents occurring in other EU member states.
This situation arises as Dan Jørgensen is working to more closely integrate Europe’s electricity grid, allowing for more efficient electricity sharing between countries. The goal is to help lower energy costs for both residents and businesses.
However, the large-scale blackout raises concerns about the potential for other EU nations to face disruptions if a more interconnected grid enables countries like Spain and Portugal to draw electricity from neighboring states during future outages.
The cause of the extensive blackout that hit Spain and Portugal on Monday is still under investigation.
Experts are investigating the reasons behind the outage, and preliminary findings indicate that there were no unusual factors affecting the energy sources supplying electricity at that time.
“It cannot be linked to a specific energy source, such as renewable energy,” Jørgensen stated in a written comment.
He reiterated that this power outage does not diminish the EU’s commitment to energy security.
“A connected electricity system, solidarity among nations, and green, locally sourced energy are crucial for enhancing our resilience,” Jørgensen emphasized.
The blackout affected most of the Iberian Peninsula, impacting around 60 million residents, with only a small area remaining unaffected, as reported by AFP.
Passengers found themselves stranded on trains, flights were canceled en masse, and hundreds of individuals were trapped in elevators, while millions lost access to phone and internet services.
By Tuesday morning, power had been largely restored in both Spain and Portugal.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on Monday evening that approximately 15 gigawatts of electricity—half the country’s energy consumption at that moment—“suddenly vanished” within five seconds around 12:30 PM.
In response to the outage, Spain activated its crisis management protocols.
The blackout caused widespread panic throughout cities in both nations, prompting many to rush to banks for cash withdrawals and crowding the streets in search of mobile phone signals.
Long queues quickly formed for taxis and buses, as traffic lights failed, complicating police traffic management. Citizens were advised to leave their vehicles at home.
Visuals from a supermarket in Madrid depicted long lines and bare shelves as shoppers began stockpiling goods.
Leave a Reply