News | Headlines Iberia blackout – full enquiry starts
Iberia Transmission & distribution The major electricity supply blackout that struck the Iberian Peninsula on the morning of 28 April cut power to millions of residents and businesses for nearly 24 hours. Between 12:38 and 13:30 CET that day, Spain’s transmission system was disconnected from the European grid at the 400 kV level owing to an issue with a power line connecting French and Spanish Catalonia. The fault triggered a domino effect disrupting electricity supply in Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and parts of France.
The blackout disrupted key infrastructure across both Spain and Portugal, affecting public transportation, traffic signals, hospitals, manufacturing plants, and digital payment systems, as well as nuclear power facilities. Hospitals were particularly affected, with many activating on-site generators and reducing services while power was restored. Although Spain’s transmission system operator, Red Eléctrica, restored 99% of the electricity supply by late morning on 29 April,
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Electricity demand and supply in the Iberian peninsula during the blackout period from 28 to 29 April. Key: the yellow line shows actual supply, the red line scheduled demand, and the green line the predicted demand up to the moment of the outage (Source: Red Eléctrica de España)
World’s first SF6-free 550 kV GIS
China Transmission & distribution Hitachi Energy has announced that it will deliver the world’s first sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)-free 550 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) to the Central China Branch of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC). Achievement of this installation marks a positive step toward decarbonising the power grid and should contribute to China’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
SGCC is the world’s largest utility company, serving over 1.1 billion people across 88 % of China’s national territory. As a prominent player in the energy sector, SGCC has developed an
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ambitious action plan for carbon neutrality. The SF6-free 550 kV GIS is part of ‘EconiQ’, Hitachi Energy’s proprietary portfolio for sustainability. By replacing SF6 with a sustainable gas mixture, this GIS eliminates the greenhouse gas emissions caused by SF6 while maintaining the same performance and compact design as conventional solutions. Replacing SF6 is crucial for protecting the environment because it has a global warming potential 24 300 times higher than CO2
, and
leaks from equipment can remains in the atmosphere for over 1000 years. This project is the world’s first pilot
application of 550 kV SF6-free GIS, and is considered to be of great significance by SGCC in its aim to transform the electrical industry by achieving its decarbonisation goals. Markus Heimbach, managing director of business unit High Voltage Products at Hitachi Energy, commented, “The world’s first SF6-free 550 kV GIS represents a major milestone in our journey to provide sustainable and efficient power grid solutions … we are addressing the industry’s demand for reliable and eco-efficient high-voltage switchgear and helping to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, flexible, and secure energy system.”
the event, says Eurelectric, the association that represents the common interests of the EU’s electricity industry, serves as a powerful reminder of the critical importance of Europe’s electricity grid.
At the time, the cause still being unknown, Eurelectric’s secretary general Kristian Ruby was able to state in a BBC interview that “What we do know is that we had a very serious incident – one that has had major impacts in several European countries at the same time. Something that is very very rare.” Later Mr Ruby enlarged on this in a statement by Eurelectic, that while the cause of the blackout had yet to be defined, there were reports of anomalous oscillations in the high voltage lines before the power shut down. These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems and eventually ended in disturbances across the interconnected European network. However the Spanish system operator was able to rule out cyber attack as the cause.
Investigations
On 29 April, investigations into the root cause of the blackout were still ongoing, but it appears that Spain’s high-voltage grid suffered more power generation disruptions than previously known ahead of the country’s largest ever blackout, the government said. There was a loss of power generation that occurred 19 seconds before the blackout, adding to two that were previously known. Environmental Transition minister Sara Aagesen said on 5 May “We are seeking to identify the plants” where the generation collapsed and why this happened. Ali Mehrizi-Sani, Virginia Tech professor and director of the Power and Energy Centre, whose team is carrying out research aimed at ensuring the grid can endure higher amounts of renewables, commented that reports suggesting that the Spanish system was tied to too much renewable energy at the time of the failure still need to be fully investigated, but it could be a contributing factor. However, he said, “The main issue is not the generation source itself, but how that generation source is controlled. Renewables introduce a new paradigm in electric power generation – they generate power without needing large rotating masses. This means that with more renewables, the inertia of the power grid is reduced. Less inertia can make the grid more agile but also more fragile during sudden disturbances.” His team is using control modes referred to as grid-forming controls. These help renewables mimic the stabilising effect of traditional generators.
An expert panel is being set up by ENTSOE-E to investigate the incident. This panel includes transmission system operators, regional coordination centres, ENTSO-E. The relevant national regulatory authorities are also invited to participate. The panel will collect the data and first prepare a factual report, followed by the final report that will analyse the causes of the incident and include recommendations to make the system more resilient.
Demands (MW)
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