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The Spanish government said on Wednesday that it had ruled out a cyberattack on the national electricity grid operator as the source of the massive and mysterious power outage that hit the Iberian Peninsula late last month.
More than two weeks after the 28 April blackout disrupted telecommunications, halted transportation, and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal, authorities are still working to determine its cause. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez calls for patience as the investigation into cause of blackout continues.
The national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, confirmed that it had found no signs of a ‘cybersecurity incident’ during the disruption. This comes after the government had initially kept all possibilities open. ALSO READ: Spain’s high court to open investigation as to possible cyberattack, as business sector counts cost.
‘After analysing all the relevant data, we have not found indications that the system operator was targeted by a cyberattack,’ Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen (main image) told the Spanish Congress
In her address, Aagesen outlined a detailed timeline, noting that two major power fluctuations occurred within 30 minutes before the grid failure at 12.33 pm.
She identified the precise locations of three key incidents that contributed to the blackout — substations in the southern provinces of Granada and Seville in Andalusia, and Badajoz in Extremadura
According to Aagesen, authorities are now working through hundreds of millions of data points gathered from Red Eléctrica and power companies to assess whether the fluctuations are connected to the widespread outage.
She also responded sharply to criticism from the right-wing and far-right opposition parties, who have blamed the government’s focus on renewable energy and its intent to phase out nuclear power. ALSO READ: Spain’s opposition parties blame PM’s renewable energy policies for blackout.
The inquiry into the blackout ‘will last as long as necessary’ and ‘we will not allow hastiness to take us away from the truth’, Aagesen said.
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🔹 VP Sara Aagesen comparece en @Congreso_Es pic.twitter.com/1cbviZSQfN
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