Spain launches official probe into blackout as court investigates possible 'cyberterrorism'

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced the creation of an investigative commission to clarify the causes of Monday's widespread blackout, and pledged that those responsible will be held accountable.

"We will get to the bottom of this, the necessary reforms will be made, measures will be taken to ensure it never happens again, and private operators will be held accountable where necessary," he said.

Sánchez did not rule out any scenario, including a cyberattack, which, in contrast, has been ruled out by Spain's national grid operator. 

The PM stated that the power outage was not caused by an excess of renewable energy or a lack of supply to meet demand.

He also dismissed claims linking the incident to the decline of nuclear power, saying: "Those who link this incident with the lack of nuclear plants are either lying or demonstrating their ignorance."

Rather than being a solution, nuclear energy had been "a problem," during the crisis, he added.

"Spanish government will get to the bottom of the matter"

Sánchez was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Madrid, following the third meeting in 24 hours of Spain's National Security Council. 

The Spanish PM celebrated the return to normality and reviewed the overall current situation – more than 99.5% of electricity service restored, mobile coverage across 90% of Spain, and airports, ports and roads operating "normally."

The first priority of his government, he said, is "to consolidate the restoration of the electrical system at 100%."

The second priority, according to Sánchez, is "to find out what happened and take measures to prevent it from happening again."

He said he expects to receive the first results of investigations from grid operator Red Eléctrica and private operators "within the next few hours or days."

"The public must be clear that the Spanish government will get to the bottom of the matter," Sánchez said.

Investigation commission

The Spanish government has therefore created an investigation commission led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which will collaborate with other organizations related to cybersecurity and the CNMC (National Commission on Markets and Competition).

Furthermore, Spain's National Security Council has asked the European Commission's Electricity Coordination Group to produce an independent report from Brussels "to provide a much clearer and more accurate picture of what happened during these critical hours."

While grid operator Red Eléctrica has ruled out a cyberattack, Sánchez stated that it is the government's responsibility to conduct "an independent analysis," and therefore the National Cryptologic Center will be investigating the incident and reviewing the computer records of Red Eléctrica and private operators "to not rule out any hypothesis."

The investigation commission's findings will be used to improve Spain's electricity system, ensuring that "what happened yesterday can never happen again," the PM said.

"We understand that the public and the media have questions, and we are the first to want to provide answers. We will hold private operators accountable if needed."

Renewables not to blame

The Spanish PM also took steps to contradict some of the narratives that have emerged regarding the cause of the blackout.

"There was no problem of excess renewable energy, or a lack of supply due to unmet demand. When the blackout occurred, demand was relatively low and it had been quite normal in the days leading up to this crisis," he said.

He also warned that "those who link this incident with the lack of nuclear plants are either lying or demonstrating their ignorance," because the recovery of the grid was achieved "thanks to the interconnection with France and Morocco, gas combined-cycle plants, and hydroelectric plants."

"Citizens need to know that during this crisis, nuclear power plants, far from being a solution, have been a problem, because they were offline, and we had to divert large amounts of energy to them to keep their cores stable."

Cyber sabotage investigation

As well as the government investigation, a judge at Spain's National Court has decided to initiate preliminary proceedings to ascertain whether the recent blackout could have been an act of cyber sabotage against Spain's critical infrastructure.

If proven, this could constitute a terrorist offense.

Judge José Luis Calama has ordered the National Cryptologic Centre and Red Eléctrica to produce reports within 10 days specifying the causes or factors that led to the blackout.

Spain's National Police has also been asked to submit a preliminary report on the incident within the same 10-day period.

Calama noted that the blackout represented a "critical situation for the well-being and sense of security of all citizens" and referenced the Spanish government's explanation, which states that 15GW of energy were lost for five seconds, equivalent to 60% of the electricity being consumed at the time.

While the judge acknowledged that the cause of the incident remains unknown, he emphasized that "cyberterrorism is among the possible causes," prompting the opening of a judicial investigation.

According to Article 573 of the Penal Code, the judge noted, cybercrimes can be classified as terrorism if their purpose is to severely destabilize the constitutional order or disrupt essential services.

Catalan government launches two investigations

The Catalan government has launched two investigations into Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica and utility company Endesa to "clarify the causes" of Monday's blackout, as Catalan president Salvador Illa announced during a press conference on Tuesday.

Despite criticism, Illa also believes that the government's response was "positive, correct, and up to the task" and that the cabinet gave information only once it was verified. Socialist leader Illa spoke during a press conference after an emergency cabinet meeting held on Tuesday morning.