Mass power outage in Spain and Portugal

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Paul

It affected a lot of data centres, some of my email was inaccessible for a while, while they sorted out the issues.

It affected everything.

Toilets in airports wouldn’t flush. Which makes you question, what do you automate and what not?

A simple handle and mechanical flush……..toilets still open for business!

Following this incident, all countries and sectors should rethink what needs to be powered to work.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Many news outlets are reporting that it’s the rush for net zero that is to blame.

The jury’s still out, but this is looking to be the likely cause of the unprecedented outage.

You would be wise to wait for the jury's verdict.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Sirius

To be honest i expected the Tin Foil hat brigade to blame EV's for the blackout

On CD earlier I saw someone asked if was some kind of attack...

If it was,I doubt we will ever be told!

[Sephiroth]

What we haven't seen is the following:

1. A map of power stations in Spain/Portugal and their output.

2. A map of power consumption set alongside the power station map.

3. Ditto in respect of "green generation" and whether the wind was blowing.

4. A map of the interconnect(s) with France and their capacity.

5. A detailed scientific description of the oscillation phenomenon said to have occurred

I can quite see in my head how an extra-ordinary physical event could trip the interconnect (with possible consequences for France) because the management systems for normalising mains frequencies couldn't cope with the oscillations.

As to net zero, if it turns out that the wind wasn't blowing but there is a disproportionate reliance on wind for power in Spain, and if Portugal has been lazy in its power generation strategy, then OB's suggestion may have merit.

Whatever the cause, the UK is vulnerable, none-the least because of Miliband and our dependence on the Norwegian interconnect which Russia will evenrtually cut.

[1andrew1]

In any kind of manmade large-scale problem, it tends to be a combination of failings coming together at the same time. I suspect this situation will be no different.

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

In any kind of manmade large-scale problem, it tends to be a combination of failings coming together at the same time. I suspect this situation will be no different.

In my line of work. Reliability Engineering of telecomms networks, you determine all the possible failure modes (dependencies), calculate their probabilities and design mitigations. Sometimes (but rarely) we miss a failure mode and then learn fore the next iteration of the reliability report.

Electrical networks, at the distribution level, are not a million miles away from telecomms in the topological sense. So SPOFs and common modes are usually easy to identify. A SPOF can be a disaster; a common mode (for example duff software in transmission hardware that routes electricity) can also lead to disaster.

This amplifies Andrew's statement. But what we need to find out is what their reliability assessment and risk analysis stated. Even more important, is to find out what our stupid governments have assessed.

National Grid in the U.K. is a Public Company, and the Spanish equivalent is 80% public owned and 20% State owned, so not sure if "stupid governments" are involved in assessing…

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Hugh

National Grid in the U.K. is a Public Company

Sort of……

The UK government acquired National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) on October 1, 2024, for £630 million. The ESO was rebranded as the National Energy System Operator (NESO), which now operates as a public body, overseeing the planning and operation of the UK's electricity and gas networks. This move was part of the Energy Act 2023 and aims to support energy security, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and potentially reduce energy bills.

It Operates and manages the real-time balancing of electricity supply and demand, ensuring grid stability and market operations.

Originally Posted by Pierre

Sort of……

The UK government acquired National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) on October 1, 2024, for £630 million. The ESO was rebranded as the National Energy System Operator (NESO), which now operates as a public body, overseeing the planning and operation of the UK's electricity and gas networks. This move was part of the Energy Act 2023 and aims to support energy security, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and potentially reduce energy bills.

It Operates and manages the real-time balancing of electricity supply and demand, ensuring grid stability and market operations.

Thanks for that info - didn’t know that.