Iberian Blackout Tests Europe’s Aging Grids

Europe got a sharp reminder of its energy fragility yesterday, when, at around midday, Spain and Portugal suffered a massive blackout, forcing millions to deal with life off the grid. For hours, the incident impacted public transport, airports and phone service, and left authorities scrambling to find the cause — even as the countries return to some semblance of normality this morning. A nationwide outage is very rare in Europe, but underscores major challenges ahead. While the exact cause of the Iberian blackout remains unclear, sharp swings in power may have caused the transmission network to collapse — a major concern as the EU tries to shift rapidly toward renewables. On a particularly sunny or windy day, cheap power can flood the system, putting pressure on an aging grid. Whatever the reason, it will serve as a strong reminder that the EU needs to modernize equipment, and fast.