<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Portuguese energy company Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) has suspended energy trade exchanges between Portugal and Spain “out of caution” as a result of the massive blackout that affected the entire Iberian Peninsula on Monday.</strong></h4> In statements to CNN Portugal, REN director João Faria Conceição explained on Tuesday that “the interconnections between the systems are operational,” but, for reasons of “caution,” energy trade exchanges between Portugal and Spain are not operating. According to the official, shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Monday, connections had been restored to all of its infrastructure across the country. “All our substations were connected and fully operational,” he added. “We are converging toward a situation of normality,” but “the distribution side is taking a little longer,” he continued. The next step at this time, he specified, is to "guarantee the complete stabilization of the system" to "move back to the normal operation of the wholesale markets," which define the power plants that supply energy to the entire Iberian region. "From that moment on, we can say that the system has returned, both in technical and economic terms, to completely normal operation," he added. To achieve this, he explained, it is necessary to "manage the electricity system separately," as a "matter of prudence," a decision made jointly with the government, the Directorate General of Energy, Spanish official entities, and counterparts in the Spanish electricity grid. "The interconnections between the systems are operational, but there are no commercial energy exchanges" between Portugal and Spain, he added. When asked about the possibility that an excess of renewable energy in the energy system is behind Monday's incident, the REN director considers it a "plausible idea," but emphasizes that "it is not the only one." “Apparently, according to the Spanish authorities, a cyberattack has been ruled out, so now we have to focus on what exactly happened,” he continued. In any case, he warned that renewable energies are “a secure energy source,” with a set of characteristics—including their volatility—“that must, naturally, be accommodated” with approaches that “mitigate” those same characteristics.
