Spain suffered multiple power incidents in the build up to full blackout [Video]

Spain suffered several power glitches and industry officials sounded repeated warnings about the instability of its power grid in the build up to its catastrophic blackout on Monday.

The government has ordered several investigations into the blackout. Industry experts say that whatever the cause, the mass outage and earlier smaller incidents indicate the Spanish power grid faces challenges amid the boom of renewables.

A surplus of energy supply can disrupt power grids in the same way as a deficit, and grid operators must maintain balance.

In the week before the blackout, Spain saw several power surges and cuts.

A power cut disrupted railway signals and stranded at least 10 high-speed trains near Madrid on April 22. Transport Minister Oscar Puente said excessive voltage in the power network had triggered disconnections to protect substations.

On the same day, Repsol’s Cartagena refinery saw its operations disrupted by power supply problems.

The grid suffered from significant instability in the days before …