Spain’s large-scale blackout: drop in solar generation or cyber sabotage?

The National Court of Spain has opened a case to investigate whether the large-scale power outage on April 28 was a “cyber sabotage.” This is reported by El Pais.

Investigating judge of the National Court of Justice Jose Luis Calama opened criminal proceedings to find out whether the power outage in Spain on Monday, April 28, could have been a “cyber sabotage against the country’s critical infrastructure.”

According to the court, if this version is confirmed, “it will qualify as a terrorist crime.”

The first steps in the investigation should be the preparation of reports by the National Cryptology Center and Red Eléctrica within ten days, without the possibility of extension, setting out the reasons for the blackout.

The judge also asked the Main Police Information Department to submit a preliminary report on the incident within the same ten-day period.

Red Eléctrica de España, the national grid operator in Spain, has ruled out a cyberattack and pointed to a drop in solar generation as the preliminary cause of the blackout.

And Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised to bring private operators to justice after large-scale blackouts and noted that as of Tuesday, April 29, the country had almost completely restored power supply.

According to the Portuguese grid operator, the blackout was caused by a “rare atmospheric phenomenon.” European Council President Antonio Costa said that there were “no signs of a cyberattack” in the European blackout.