EU power supply failure
18.1.2021
Question for written answer E-000247/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Claudia Gamon (Renew), Morten Petersen (Renew)
On Friday 8⁰January 2021, a power supply failure that is suspected to have originated in Romania disrupted the Continental Europe Synchronous Area. Its frequency dropped to 48.75⁰Hz (target frequency 50Hz), which caused the South-East area to be separated from the rest of the grid. This disruption and a lack of operating reserves in France nearly caused a Europe-wide blackout. Luckily, the automatic activation of power stations throughout Europe and the automatic initiation of contracted load shedding in Italy (1000⁰MW) and France (1300⁰MW) kept the grid stable and prevented a blackout. This incident shows the fragility of the grid and the real possibility of a Europe-wide blackout, which we need to prevent.
- 1.Does the Commission have more detailed information on the cause of the disruption in the Continental Europe Synchronous Area of 8⁰January 2021?
- 2.What conclusions has it drawn from the incident?
- 3.How does it plan to prevent similar incidents in the future?