Voltage surge caused power cut that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness
Environment Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, told reporters that a voltage surge led to small grid failures, mainly in the south of Spain, which then cascaded to larger ones and brought the system down in both countries.
She ruled out that the failure was due to a cyberattack.
On April 28, around 60% of Spain's electricity was lost in the major blackout, disrupting businesses, transport systems, mobile networks, internet connectivity and other critical infrastructure. Portugal, whose grid is connected to Spain's, also went down.
'All of this happened in 12 seconds, with most of the power loss happening in just five seconds,' Aagesen said.
Several technical causes contributed to the event, including 'poor planning' by Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which didn't find a replacement for one power plant that was supposed to help balance power fluctuations, the minister said.
She also said that some power plants that utilities shut off preventively when the disruptions started could have stayed online to help manage the system.
The Red Eléctrica is yet to respond to the government's claims.
The blackout caused a national emergency in Spain as a day of widespread disruption saw cities gridlocked, commuters trapped inside trains and flights grounded.
There were also reports of medical services implementing emergency plans to mitigate the impact on the healthcare system.
Sports events were also cancelled, businesses were forced shut and people were seen queuing at cash machines to access funds.
Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day.
In the weeks following the blackout, the outage ignited a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power and not enough energy generated from nuclear or gas-fired power plants had something to do with the grid failing, which the government has repeatedly denied.
Spain is at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57% of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended the country's rapid ramping up of renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimeter' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
Keir Starmer told to call Bank Holiday if England beat Spain and win Euro 2025
Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to reward the nation with a Bank Holiday should the Lionesses win Sunday's Euro 2025 final against Spain. Sarina Wiegman's side defend the title they won three years ago at Wembley after a memorable win over Germany against an all-conquering Spanish side. The Lionesses will be significant underdogs against the reigning world champions but the comeback queens are no strangers to overcoming significant odds. After losing their opening group stage against France, England roared back with wins over Netherlands and Wales, before being taken to the brink by Sweden and Italy in the knockout rounds. Should England gain revenge for the painful World Cup final defeat they suffered against Spain two years ago, Starmer will have a difficult decision to make. The Prime Minister was in opposition back in 2023 when England were last in a showpiece final and made his feelings known on the eve of the Lionesses clash with Spain. 'It's almost 60 years since England won the World Cup,' he wrote on X. 'I'm never complacent about anything… but there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home.' After the men's side reached the Euros final last summer, meanwhile he said: 'We should certainly mark the occasion, I don't want to jinx it.' With Sunday's showdown zooming into view, Starmer is now facing calls tostick to his beliefs and hand millions a day off if the Lionesses win. Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Max Wilkinson is leading the pressure, saying: 'The Lionesses can make history on Sunday and retain the Euros title they won so memorably three years ago. 'If they do that, the Prime Minister should give us a Public Holiday to honour their achievement. 'Retaining the title would be one of our country's greatest sporting achievements. 'Fans and patriots across the country deserve the chance to celebrate the talent, success and historic achievement of this amazing team. More Trending 'A Bank Holiday would also give our hospitality industry a much-needed assist and boost. 'The Prime Minister is a football fan – we've all seen the pictures of him enjoying a kick around with his mates. 'If Wiegman's heroes deliver glory, we'll all be hoping he'll put the ball into an empty net by giving the Lionesses and the rest of us a chance to mark the occasion. 'A Bank Holiday would also give our hospitality industry a much-needed assist and boost.' MORE: This is where to shop the Lionesses' England Euro 2025 kit before Sunday's final MORE: Italy players caught laughing at Chloe Kelly moments before England equaliser MORE: Michelle Agyemang reacts to wild journey from England ball girl to Euro 2025 saviour
NBC News
a day ago
- NBC News
Detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz describe cage-like units swarmed by mosquitoes
Legal advocates and relatives of immigrant detainees held in Florida's notorious Alligator Alcatraz are demanding the closure of the state-run facility, as allegations of human rights violations there and at other immigration detention centers mount. Detainees in Alligator Alcatraz, a new facility in the Everglades, described what they called torturous conditions in cage-like units full of mosquitoes, where fluorescent lights shine bright on them at all times. Detainees here also called attention to unsanitary conditions, as well as lack of food and reliable medical treatment for their chronic conditions. 'Detention conditions are unlivable,' said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, during a news conference Tuesday outside the facility. The Trump administration's push to quickly ramp up immigration arrests has led to overcrowding at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. As of June 20, more than 56,000 people were spending the night in detention centers nationwide on any given day. That's 40% more than in June 2024 and the highest detention population in U.S. history, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Nearly 72% of those detained have no criminal history. Concerns over detention conditions intensified this week after the HRW report, published Monday, documented 'abusive practices' at three Florida immigration detention centers over the past six months. In addition, the New York Immigration Coalition released video showing dozens of men laying on foil sheets on the floor of a crowded immigration processing center in New York City. NBC News recently reported on similar allegations coming from immigration advocates and detainees held in detention centers across California, Texas, Louisiana, Washington and New Jersey. They described experiencing hunger, food shortages and sickness. 'It's like a dog cage' In Tuesday's news conference, Sonia Vichara held her mobile phone up to a microphone so her husband, Rafael Collado, could publicly describe from Alligator Alcatraz the conditions he has endured over the past two weeks. 'It's like a dog cage,' Collado, who is Cuban, said in his native Spanish. He said that a combination of floodwater from recent storms, limited access to showers and poor sanitation have caused him to get fungus on his feet. As he was describing how detainees are stripped naked every time they are moved to a different cell and there's not a set schedule to take his blood pressure medication, Collado was told by a guard to hang up, he said, ending the call. Vichara said her husband had been showing up to his immigration appointments for years until he was detained recently during a routine check-in at an ICE field office in Miramar. Another detainee, Juan Palma, also spoke to NBC Miami from inside Alligator Alcatraz on Monday. 'I feel like my life is in danger,' Palma, who is Cuban, said in Spanish. He described feeling 'in a state of torture," being swarmed by mosquitoes during his sleep and unable to tell night from day because the facility's fluorescent lights are always on. Palma also reported being allowed to shower only every three to four days and being kept in a cage-style unit with 32 other people. Both Vichara and Palma's wife, Yanet Lopez, said their respective husbands have criminal records, but they did their time. NBC Miami reported that Palma's record included grand theft, credit forgery and battery. Vichara did not provide details of Collado's record only limiting herself to say, 'He did made a mistake, but he paid for it for 10 years.' That's no excuse to put detainees in harm's way, Petit said. 'We are talking about exposing people to illnesses and even to their death. That is a human rights violation, doesn't matter if you are an immigrant,' she said. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has denied all allegations of inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz and at immigration detention centers across the nation, telling NBC News in an email Tuesday, 'All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority.' McLaughlin also said that ICE 'has worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding,' adding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem 'has called on states and local government to help with bed and detention space capacity.' Concerns rise as detainee population rises Janeisy Fernández Díaz, the mother of Michael Borrego Fernández, a Cuban national being held in Alligator Alcatraz, called for the facility's closure Tuesday. 'I want this place to close,' she said on behalf of her son, who is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed last week by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Department of Homeland Security. In the complaint, four people being held in Alligator Alcatraz and their attorneys allege that the federal government has interfered with their ability to access detainees and provide them counsel, as well as 'harsh and inhumane conditions' at the facility. Borrego Fernández reported that people held in Alligator Alcatraz 'are only allowed one meal a day (and given only minutes to eat), are not permitted daily showers, and are otherwise kept around the clock in a cage inside a tent,' the complaint states. He also reported instances of physical assaults and excessive use of force by guards, along with a lack of medical care and attention. According to Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Borrego Fernández has spent more than 17 days at the facility, raising questions over the facility's operating standards. Alligator Alcatraz is not a traditional detention facility since it's operated and financed by the state of Florida to enforce federal immigration laws. NBC News has a pending information request to Florida officials, asking for a list of detainees and a copy of the standards outlining detention rules at the facility. During Tuesday's news conference, immigration advocates made it a point to reject the Alligator Alcatraz name, which began as a political moniker invented and adopted by Republican leaders and is now the facility's official name. It is not the only immigration facility in Florida facing allegations. Based on interviews with 11 current and former detainees at Krome North Service Processing Center, the Broward Transitional Center and the Federal Detention Center between January and June, as well as data analysis and conversations with 14 immigration lawyers, Human Rights Watch concluded in its report that people at these facilities were subjected to "dangerously substandard medical care, overcrowding, abusive treatment, and restrictions on access to legal and psychosocial support." The report also found that detainees were forced to sleep on cold, concrete floors without bedding and were given "substandard" food.
NBC News
a day ago
- NBC News
Journalist detained by ICE after covering immigration protest should be released, his children say
ATLANTA — A Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering a protest just outside Atlanta last month and is being held in a federal immigration jail felt a duty to help those whose voices often go unheard, his children said Tuesday. Police in DeKalb County arrested Mario Guevara while he was covering a protest on June 14, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few days later. An immigration judge set a $7,500 bond for him earlier this month, but that ruling has been put on hold while the government appeals it. For now, Guevara is being held in an immigration detention center in Folkston, in southeast Georgia, near the Florida border and a five-hour drive from his family in suburban Atlanta. Katherine Guevara, 27, said that for more than 20 years she has watched her father's "unwavering dedication and selfless commitment to serving the Hispanic community." "He chased stories that mattered, stories that told the truth about immigration, injustice, about people who usually go ignored," she said during a news conference at the Georgia state Capitol. Guevara, 47, fled El Salvador two decades ago and drew a big audience as a journalist in the Atlanta area. He worked for Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language newspaper, for years before starting a digital news outlet called MG News a year ago. He was livestreaming video on social media from a "No Kings" rally protesting President Donald Trump's administration when local police arrested him in DeKalb County. Guevara frequently arrives on the scene where ICE or other law enforcement agencies are active, often after getting tips from community members. He regularly livestreams what he's seeing on social media. "Growing up, I didn't always understand why my dad was so obsessed with his work, why he'd jump up and leave dinner to chase down a story. But now I do," said Oscar Guevara, 21, who now works as a photojournalist for MG News. Guevara's children were joined at the news conference by members of civil rights and press freedom groups, as well as state lawmakers. "Mario Guevara is journalist and so his detention raises even bigger questions, about civil rights, constitutional rights, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press," state Sen. Josh McLaurin said. Giovanni Diaz, one of Guevara's lawyers, said he and the family have been speaking to Guevara regularly. He said Guevara is doing well but has "been shaken to his core" because he believes he's being unfairly punished by a country he loves so much. "He is still smiling. He's in good spirits. And he's in it for the fight, and so are we," Diaz said. Guevara is "essentially in isolation," Diaz said, adding that ICE has said that it's for his own safety since he's a public figure and his reporting style was sometimes controversial. But being kept alone, "that wears on you," Diaz said. An immigration judge agreed with Guevara's lawyers that the journalist is not a danger to the community, but ICE is arguing he's such a threat that he shouldn't be released, Diaz said. The lawyer said he's optimistic that the Board of Immigration Appeals will decide in Guevara's favor and he will be able to post bond, allowing him to be free while he fights the government's efforts to deport him. Guevara has been authorized to work and remain in the country, Diaz said. A previous immigration case against him was administratively closed more than a decade ago, and he has a pending green card application. Video from his arrest shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with "PRESS" printed across his chest. He could be heard telling a police officer, "I'm a member of the media, officer." He was standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, moments before he was taken away. Police charged Guevara with unlawful assembly, obstruction of police and being a pedestrian on or along the roadway. His lawyers worked to get him released and he was granted bond in DeKalb, but ICE had put a hold on him and he was held until they came to pick him up. DeKalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling on June 25 dismissed the charges, saying that video showed that Guevara was "generally in compliance and does not demonstrate the intent to disregard law enforcement directives." The sheriff's office in neighboring Gwinnett County announced on June 20, once Guevara was already in ICE custody, that it had secured warrants against him on charges of distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving. Gwinnett County Solicitor-General Lisamarie Bristol announced July 10 that she would not pursue those charges.
