A Spanish criminal court will investigate whether the massive power outage on the Iberian Peninsula was the result of "computer sabotage against critical infrastructure", the national court in Spain, the Audiencia Nacional, said on Tuesday.
The cause of the power outage is still unknown. But "cyberterrorism" is among the possible explanations, the Audiencia Nacional said. The court believes that the "critical situation" that the outage created for the population means that an investigation is necessary.
Spanish electricity grid operator Red Electrica said earlier on Tuesday that the preliminary assessment is that a cyber attack was not the cause of the outage.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that no possible causes have yet been ruled out. The Spanish government has set up a commission to investigate the causes of the power grid collapse.
- All necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again, Pedro Sánchez said at a press conference.
The right-wing Spanish party Vox has attacked Spain's left-wing government, linking the sudden blackout to the planned phasing out of Spain's nuclear power plants. The Spanish prime minister denies that the widespread blackout is due to a lack of nuclear power.
- Those who link this incident to the lack of nuclear power are either deliberately lying or revealing their ignorance, Sánchez said, stressing that nuclear power is "no more resilient" than other energy sources.
The Portuguese government has asked the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to investigate the blackout.
- We want a full investigation into the causes of the blackout. We need quick, urgent answers, says Portugal's acting prime minister, Luis Montenegro.
Monday's power outage in Spain and Portugal is the most extensive ever recorded on the Iberian Peninsula. Public transport was paralyzed, mobile and internet networks failed, traffic lights went black and many planes had to be grounded. People were evacuated from metros and elevators where they were trapped as the Iberian Peninsula went black.
/ritzau/AFP
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