Blackout Spain, possible cause: an error in information or management systems. Terna: no problem in Italy

There may be a problem generated by the electricity transmission network among the causes that caused a mega blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, also affecting parts of France and Portugal. It is not yet clear whether the problem was generated in Spain and then also affected parts of the Portuguese and French networks. It would not be a fault, but an error in information or management systems.

Despite the devastating effects, with paralysis of business, internet connection and transport in the three affected countries, the problem - according to the first fragmentary information emerging - could be resolved within a few hours and in any case within the day. In some areas of the Iberian peninsula, the electricity supply has already been restored. The Italian network was not affected by the black-out, and this despite the fact that the electricity transmission networks of the various European countries are highly interconnected. Reassurances came from the management of the Italian transmission grid.

According to the European Union Information Security Agency (Enisa) itself, initial investigations into the cause of the outages suggest a technical failure rather than a cyber attack. "For the time being, the investigation seems to point to a technical or cable problem," an agency spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. "However," he added, "Enisa is closely monitoring the situation and we are in contact with the relevant authorities at national and EU level.

'Extreme temperature fluctuations in Spain' allegedly contributed to the blackout that affected the Iberian Peninsula. This was reported by the Portuguese operator Ren (Rede Eletrica Nacional), quoted by the BBC. "Due to extreme temperature variations in inland Spain, abnormal oscillations occurred in the very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'," Ren reports. 'These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to subsequent disruptions along the interconnected European grid'.

"Regarding the blackout underway in these hours in Spain and in some regions of Portugal and France, there are currently no operational criticalities on the national transmission electricity grid," says a note released by Terna.