5 h. ago Mountain marvel: how one of biggest batteries in Europe uses thousands of gallons of water to stop blackouts

‘Much-loved’ Dinorwig hydroelectric energy storage site in Wales has a vital role to play in keeping the lights onSeconds after a catastrophic series of power outages struck across the UK in the summer of 2019, a phone rang in the control room of the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales. It was Britain’s energy system operator requesting an immediate deluge of electricity to help prevent a wide-scale blackout crippling Britain’s power grids.The response was swift, and in the end just under million people were left without power for less than 45 minutes. While trains were stuck on lines for hours and hospitals had to revert to backup generators, that phone call prevented Britain’s worst blackout in a decade from being far more severe. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Spain hit with nationwide mobile phone outage weeks after electricity blackout

Phone lines reportedly collapsed early on Tuesday morning following network updates by Telefónica

Events

4 d. ago Major mobile network suffers massive outage in Spain weeks after electricity blackout

It comes weeks after Spain’s national blackouts caused chaos in the Iberian peninsula

Politics

1 week ago Readers reply: If you were prepping, what would your top five items be?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts. This week’s followed the Spain/Portugal outagesIf you were prepping, what should be your top five things to hoard in light of the recent power outages in Spain and Portugal? Alina Ahmad, JohannesburgSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago EU chief says row over fishing rights is settled ahead of Starmer's Brexit 'reset' next week but Spain bids to reopen Gibraltar spat

Kaja Kallas said 'we are over the fish' ahead of a major summit in London next week where Sir Keir Starmer hopes to confirm UK firms will join a 150 billion euro joint defence fund.

Politics

1 week ago Spain probes cyber weaknesses at small power plants after blackout

Madrid says ‘everything remains on the table’ as it seeks to identify the cause of massive April 28 outage

Politics

1 week ago London Underground chaos as huge portion of Tube network suffers power outage

London Underground chaos as huge portion of Tube network suffers power outage  Daily Express

Events

1 week ago Passengers plunged into chaos as London Underground network suffers power outage

Passengers plunged into chaos as London Underground network suffers power outage  lbc.co.uk

Events

2 w. ago ‘Really a mess’: America’s air traffic control system suffering from years of neglect

Roots of the crisis go back to Reagan but Musk’s Doge team accused of making things worse – can it be fixed?Twice in the past two weeks, communications between air traffic controllers and airplanes at Newark Liberty, one of the US’s busiest airports, have failed – leaving controllers unable to communicate with pilots.The outages have, thankfully, only led to massive delays, not disaster. But they have also once again focused a harsh light on the persistent safety problems at US airports, which handle over 50,000 flights a day. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Really a mess’: US’s air traffic control system suffering from years of neglect

Roots of the crisis go back to Reagan but Musk’s Doge team accused of making things worse – can it be fixed?Twice in the past two weeks, communications between air traffic controllers and airplanes at Newark Liberty, one of the US’s busiest airports, have failed – leaving controllers unable to communicate with pilots.The outages have, thankfully, only led to massive delays, not disaster. But they have also once again focused a harsh light on the persistent safety problems at US airports, which handle over 50,000 flights a day. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Tone deaf’: US tech company responsible for global IT outage to cut jobs and use AI

CrowdStrike CEO announces 5% of workforce to be slashed globally, citing artificial intelligence efficiencies created in the businessThe cybersecurity company that became a household name after causing a massive global IT outage last year has announced it will cut 5% of its workforce in part due to “AI efficiency”.In a note to staff earlier this week, released in stock market filings in the US, CrowdStrike’s chief executive, George Kurtz, announced that 500 positions, or 5% of its workforce, would be cut globally, citing AI efficiencies created in the business. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago After Spain's blackout, questions about renewable energy are back

The massive power outage that hit the Iberian peninsula last month has reignited a debate in Spain over the country’s plan to phase out its nuclear reactors and generate more power with renewable energy

Politics

2 w. ago Spain hit by more blackouts as 'tens of thousands' left without power in Canary Islands a week after nationwide outages

Local media reported that thousands of locals and holidaymakers across the island were left without power for nearly two hours after a blackout occurred at around 10am local time.

Events

2 w. ago Greater Manchester school issues major new ban as pupils told to surrender their mobile phones at the start of the day

The school said it aims to 'create an environment free from distractions', with kids to be forced to go without their devices for six hours until the end of the day

Politics

2 w. ago I was trapped in Spanish underground during massive power outage and it had hallmarks of a zombie apocalypse

It had all the hallmarks of a Zombie apocalypse when power went off across Spain and I was deep underground in a deserted railway station.

Politics

2 w. ago Spain's government approves a bill that reduces the workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours

Workers in Spain may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest

Politics

2 w. ago Spain's train network grinds to a halt after vital signalling cables stolen in ‘act of sabotage'

It comes just a week after Spain and Portugal suffered an unprecedented and unexplained power blackout

Politics

2 w. ago Spain: cable theft that caused rail chaos was ‘act of sabotage’, says minister

Signalling cable taken from four locations, delaying high-speed services between Madrid and Seville, week after massive power cutSpain’s transport minister has said the country’s rail network suffered “an act of serious sabotage” after vital signalling cable was stolen over the busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 travellers.The country’s state-owned rail operator, Renfe, said the problems on the line between the capital and the southern region of Andalucía had been caused by the theft of cable from four different locations in the Toledo area, south of Madrid, late on Sunday. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Major mobile brand confirms it is shutting down within weeks

It was once one of the biggest mobile brands in the world. But LG has confirmed that it is shutting down its mobile business within weeks.

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Blackouts can happen anywhere’: how power systems worldwide can collapse

After Europe’s biggest blackout in over 20 years, experts warn that while such incidents are rare, no grid is infallibleEurope’s biggest blackout in over 20 years on the Iberian peninsula unleashed hours of chaos for people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France earlier this week. But in the aftermath it has raised a common question for governments across the continent: could the same happen here?Europe’s political leaders and energy system operators have given assurances that such blackouts are extraordinarily rare, and that European power grids are some of the most stable in the world. Continue reading...

Politics