Spanish authorities will investigate the causes of the hours-long power outage on Monday, which also affected Portugal and parts of France, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday, and experts for now do not believe it was a cyberattack.
“All necessary measures will be taken to prevent this from happening again,” Sanchez said at a press conference, announcing the establishment of an investigative commission that will be overseen by the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
The National Court will also conduct an investigation into possible cyber sabotage, although experts for now do not believe that was the cause of the power outage.
“Electric grid technicians are conducting a system analysis. We expect the first preliminary results in the coming hours or days,” said the prime minister.
“No hypothesis will be ruled out until we receive those analysis results,” he added.
The judge of the National Court in Madrid, which is responsible for the most serious criminal offenses in the country including terrorism, announced the launch of an investigation into possible “cyber sabotage,” which would be considered terrorism.
The profession does not believe this for now.
“After the analyses we have conducted so far, we can rule out a cyber incident on the power grid,” said a statement from the Spanish power grid operator REE, signed by operations director Eduardo Prieto.
The Portuguese government also does not believe in a cyber incident.
REE stated on Monday that a strong fluctuation occurred in the grid, causing the Spanish system to disconnect from the European network.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized that the malfunction is not related to a lack of nuclear energy in Spain, as criticized by right-wingers and some citizens on social media.
The issue of nuclear energy has for months been at the heart of the political debate in Spain since the government announced it would soon close two of the last five reactors, which provide 20 percent of the country’s electricity consumption, compared to 40 percent from solar and wind energy.
The Spanish power system, according to REE, was operating at more than 99 percent capacity on Tuesday morning, as was the Portuguese grid, according to the Portuguese operator REN.
A full return to normal was eagerly awaited in both Spain and Portugal after a long day spent juggling difficulties such as closed subways, overcrowded buses, blocked trains, and extremely hindered communication.
Photo: Platform X
