Spain eliminates cyberattack

The operator of the Spanish network excluded cyber -under -beyond the cause of a massive reduction of power, which on Monday crippled Spain, Portugal and parts of France.

Red Eléctrica Operations Edward Print said the preliminary conclusions suggest that “there was no peculiar intervention in the control system” to mean the attack by Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

But the exact reason for the reduction is still unclear.

The network operator said on Tuesday that “could not draw conclusions” until he receives specific data. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the investigators are trying to determine the case and then bring all the necessary measures “to make sure that this would not happen again.”

The information is going on what happened during the incision, which led to the theories about what could have caused it. Experts reported the BBC that is probably caused by several setbacks.

Here’s what we know and what questions remain unanswered.

Follow live: Chaos travel continues

Sanchez said 15 GW of power on Monday night – equivalent to 60% demand at the time – “suddenly lost from the system … in just five seconds.”

Mr. Aciete said that during a press conference on Tuesday, there were two “events of shutdown” in the southwest of Spain, where there is considerable production of solar energy.

One of the questions that the Spanish network operator may be referred to was when energy companies reveal the demand and demand for electricity, which can lead to instability and temporarily disable to protect their systems.

However, Sanchez later said that reducing power was “not a problem of an excessive renewable source.” He said there was no refusal to cover – it means supply – and there was a relatively low demand for electricity, which was completely normal on the days that were subjected to the crisis.

So what happened? It is unclear, especially since many systems do not receive electricity quite often, not just renewable energy sources, and shutdowns occur somewhere in the world on average.

The mismatch between the supply and electricity supply can change the electricity frequency of 50 Hz in Europe and the UK.

If this frequency changes from a narrow range, it can damage the equipment.

“When a large company finds that the frequency comes out of their tolerance, they can come out of the offline regime to protect their equipment,” said Professor Hannah Kristensen from Oxford University.

If a lot of companies do it fast, it can have “cascading effects” and lead to a black exit, she added.

But when it comes to renewable energy sources, the operators have very accurate short -term weather forecasts to predict if there is a solar energy surplus, so they correctly adjust the diet, Professor Br. Bristensen said.

Renewable power has different problems for fossil fuel energy “because of intermittent,” she said, but this is a well-known issue that is planned.

“It surprises a little that it wouldn’t be predicted,” she said.

Professor Keith Bell, at the University of Stratklaid, added that “if the system hopes for the sun and the wind, they have developed a system to reflect it,” believing that additional energy supply in renewable sources will not be a surprise to the network.

“Spain has extensive wind and solar experience, as well as a long-standing weather forecasting system and its consequences,” he said.

“All sorts are not obtained,” he added. “Things can go wrong, whether from renewable sources, fossil fuels or nuclear energy. It can be a model of Swiss cheese where holes in the system happen with alignment.”

The Red Eléctrica also suggested that the power drop caused the relationship between Spain and France.

Two main technologies are used to connect parts of the network or countries – a standard transmission line that is alternating currents, and increasingly, direct high voltage current.

In Spain, there is a high tension line that came into service seven years ago, that is, it is well -tested, said Professor Bell.

The Iberian Peninsula is often referred to as the “island of electricity” because it relies on only a few ties through the Pyrenees to France, which means that it can be vulnerable to failures.

Sanchez said the Power was returned on the Internet thanks to the connection with France and Morocco, as well as gas and hydropower sources.

The Portugal Network operator Ren denied the initial reports attributed to the agency on Monday, which states that the blackout was caused by a rare atmospheric event.

The Portuguese report said that “from the extreme variations of the temperature in the interior or Spain, in very high tension lines were abnormal fluctuations (400 kV), a phenomenon known as” induced atmospheric vibration “.

“These fluctuations caused the synchronization between the electrical systems, which led to consecutive disorders throughout the United European Network.”

However, the press secretary of Ren Bruno Silva said AFP on Tuesday that the network operator “did not outline this statement” without giving further information.