Portuguese power network operator REN denied on Tuesday it was behind a message circulated on social media attributing the massive blackout across the Iberian peninsula to a rare atmospheric event.
Barely a corner of the peninsula, which has a joint population of almost 60 million people, escaped Monday’s power outage. No firm cause has yet emerged.
“REN confirms we did not put out this statement,” spokesman Bruno Silva told AFP, without giving further details.
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The message in Portuguese circulating on social media said the shutdown was due to “a fault in the Spanish electricity grid linked to a rare atmospheric phenomenon”.
“Due to extreme temperature variations in inland Spain, abnormal oscillations were recorded in the very high-voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration’,” the message said.
The Spanish weather office (AEMET) said on Tuesday it had not detected any unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena on Monday and nor had there been any sudden temperature changes.
Spanish grid operator REE has ruled out any “cybersecurity incident” as a cause.
