A mysterious blockage of a substation in Grenada is behind the power stop in Spain and Portugal

This was stated on Wednesday to Parliament, the Minister of Energy of Spain. Sarah Agesen, explaining that the three initial incidents, the cause of which has not yet been established, have led to a loss of production of 2.2 gig of electricity, which caused a series of interruptions of the network.

Several investigations have been considering the stopping of electricity, but this is the first time the Spanish authorities have indicated a specific origin of the incident. Establishing the cause of the interruption will take time and there will probably be no simple answers to what seems a complicated question, Agesen said.

« We are analyzing millions of data. We are progressing in determining the places where these losses have occurred, and we already know that they have started in Granada, Badahos (in the Autonomous region Estremadura) and Seville (in Andalusia), » Agessen said.

Possible versions

The government investigation also examines messages from instability operators in the days before power supply and examines excessive voltage as one of the possible causes of production.

According to the Minister, the cyberattack versions against the network operator Ree, an imbalance between demand and supply or insufficient network capacity, are excluded as possible causes of the incident.

She also rejected the assumptions of some opposition MPs that the government had received and ignored warnings from experts, adding that it would be premature to indicate responsibilities until it was understood what happened.

« There was no anxiety, no warning, » she said.

The use of renewable energy from Spain as an increasing part of electricity production has been subjected to inspection after power supply, as well as its plan to gradually eliminate nuclear energy by 2035.

Critics say one of the possible interruption factors may be the lack of the so -called « network inertia » due to the relatively small share of nuclear energy production and fossil fuels in Spain’s energy mix.

Agesen defended the government’s energy policy, saying that renewable energy sources have reduced household and business bills and will allow Spain to attract more investment while providing greater energy autonomy in times of geopolitical instability.

The Spanish electricity system continues to use the same level of renewable energy sources as before and during the interruption, the minister said.

« The combination of more renewable energy sources reduces the external risks. It allows us to predict, adapt and respond quickly to any potential. »

Agesen signals an openness to the extension of the life of nuclear power plants, but only if operators can guarantee their security and reasonable prices for consumers and if it can be proven to contribute to the security of supply.