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Big power cut in Spain, Portugal, part of France

Yeah, power was out for a couple of hours here but it's back on now. All the shops closed, people milling about on the street, no traffic lights - that's caused some issues.
No internet service back yet but at least the mobile cell service is working. Posted from my phone's wifi hotspot.
Never mind, it's a nice day and the beach is very close by.
 
The Portuguese are now talking about some "induced atmospheric vibration" due to large temperature variations causing oscillations in the 400kV distribution lines. I don't understand what effect they're describing though I recognise that oscillations on long distance HT lines are a Bad Thing.

I'm also searching in vain for someone to publish a map showing the extent of the affected regions. BBC keeps posting new snippets, but its all human interest fluff about someone telling them the petrol stations can't pump fuel or the bars can't pump beer or all the lights are off and they don't really know what's going on.
 
Weren't there widespread blackouts leading to WWI, and also Churchill said something about the lamps being out across Europe re the start of WWII? Mind you, I doubt the countries of Southern Europe are much in Putin's crosshairs - the hybrid warfare seems to have been aimed at the Baltic countries so far. More likely to do with infrastructure or climatic interference than sabotage or anything sinister.



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The Portuguese energy operator REN say it is caused by, "A phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'".


We have a bit more for you now from the Portuguese energy company REN (Rede Eletrica Nacional).

It says that "due to extreme temperature variations in the interior or Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 KV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'".

"These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network." https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c9wpq8xrvd9t
Click to expand...

So another risk factor that needs to be mitigated in future.
 
I’m not in Spain now, but very high temperatures predicted in the next few days. Any connection?
 
All kinds of theories from the usual sources.

It was an EMP, it's because of Net Zero, It's the Globalists, It's the Russians, It's because of the EU.

It's caused traffic chaos and gridlock in Madrid. I think Mr. Bridger paid for it and Charlie Croker organised it.
 
I'm amazed at the stories of mass panic buying. People should always have supplies for three days, ideally for three weeks! A few cans of petrol. Lots of bottled water and similar. Tins of tomatoes, cheeses, baked beans, sardines, tuna, hard breads, crisps, sweets, nuts, tissues. Battery operated radio, candles and torches. Spare cash. Iodine tablets in case of nuclear contamination. Prearranged meeting points.

The outtage in Spain and Portugal is a case in point, for whatever the reason for it. An outtage over such a large area could take several days to reconnect back to normal.



.Note to self: must go to cash point tomorrow.



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Last edited:
commandlinegamer said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Huge power cut causes chaos in Spain and Portugal as Madrid mayor warns people to stay put

Trains, traffic lights, card payments, and phone networks have been hit by the massive outages across both countries.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
Started about mid-day their time.
Unprecedented? Hard to think of anything comparable that isn't natural-disaster related.
Click to expand...

Blackouts have occurred frequently in Puerto Rico in recent years. Natural disasters may have something to do with them, but it seems to be more than that:

Puerto Rico power outage leaves most of the island in the dark ahead of Easter weekend (CBS News, April 16, 2025)
A look at why an island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico and what caused it (ABC News, April 17, 2025)
Authorities are still investigating the causes of the blackout. One possibility is that overgrown vegetation may have affected the grid and caused a transmission line to fail, officials said.
Click to expand...
Power restored to nearly all customers in Puerto Rico after island-wide blackout, officials say (CBS News, April 18, 2025)
The blackout hit Wednesday afternoon as the largely Catholic residents of the U.S. territory prepared to celebrate the Easter weekend. A transmission line failed, which then caused generators across the island to protectively shut down, officials said. It also left more than 400,000 customers without water at the time.
It was the latest in a string of major outages on the island in recent years – the last major blackout happened fewer than five months ago on New Year's Eve.
Click to expand...
 
There's a tremendous amount of overconfident statements rolling around the internet. The truth is, neither the Spanish nor the Portuguese have yet released anything that seems halfway credible.

In 35 years in the electricity supply industry, most of it spent in and around control rooms, I have never heard of "induced atmospheric vibration".
 
Vixen said:
I'm amazed at the stories of mass panic buying. People should always have supplies for three days, ideally for three weeks!
A few cans of petrol. ...
Click to expand...
Depends how keen on breaking the law you are. UK limit is 30 litres stored at home, unless you register it.
 
Interesting titbit:

During the blackout, Spanish authorities told the people via radio to NOT change what devices where switched on or off from when the blackout happened.
That way, they could estimate how much power would be needed from what was being used before, and balance the demand with supply being powered up again.
 
kookbreaker said:
Problem is that Gasoline has a shelf life.
Click to expand...


Good point. You can get some petrol stabiliser that extends life by two years. I mean if, in an emergency, you need to use petrol that has been stored n your garage since last summer, I can't see any harm coming from it. You have to weigh up the risks: no petrol available at the petrol station because of power cuts and you really don't want to queue for hours at ones that do work, or you are in the middle of a long journey in a remote area, then use it. I think it works as a one-off emergency solution rather than any long term use.

1746187819679.png


A bit like people worrying too much about food past their sell by date versus 'use by' date.



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"If you have a car that you only rarely drive, or even one you keep in storage for months at a time, you should add fuel stabilizer to the tank in order to keep the gas from going bad. If the fact that gas “goes bad” after a while is a shock to you, it’s time to learn about why that is and how a quality fuel stabilizer can prevent this issue. So here’s what you need to know if you’re planning to store your car and want to keep the gas fresh for a couple of years."

"Basically, when you add fuel stabilizer to the tank, the fuel will stay at full strength and won’t gum up the surrounding parts, even if you don’t drive the car. This is because the fuel stabilizer stops the oxidation process from happening, which means the chemicals in the gas don’t break down over time."



Goldeagle com
 
When I was working for the Outreach department of the TFI Science Museum, a lot of the department went on leave for the summer. My boss thought it was troublesome to have cars that were going 200 miles a day during the school year suddenly be idle for 2.5 months. So one of the parts of my job in the summer was to go to the lowest floor of the parking garage early in the day with a bunch of car keys and just drive the unused cars around the lower floors for a few laps before the crowds arrived. I thought it was silly at the time but then I heard about the shelf life of gasoline and settling of lubricants. Might still not have been needed but it didn't hurt to do it.
 
kookbreaker said:
When I was working for the Outreach department of the TFI Science Museum, a lot of the department went on leave for the summer. My boss thought it was troublesome to have cars that were going 200 miles a day during the school year suddenly be idle for 2.5 months. So one of the parts of my job in the summer was to go to the lowest floor of the parking garage early in the day with a bunch of car keys and just drive the unused cars around the lower floors for a few laps before the crowds arrived. I thought it was silly at the time but then I heard about the shelf life of gasoline and settling of lubricants. Might still not have been needed but it didn't hurt to do it.
Click to expand...
Definitely didn't hurt, and would have the added advantage of putting some power into the batteries.

I suspect that flat batteries would be the most common problem for vehicles that have been left idle for a couple of months.

My car forces me to run the engine, and add at least 20l of fuel every six months, to manage the lubrication/gelling issues.
 
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