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

31 h. ago Celebrity Big Brother's Chris Hughes says 'I love it' as JoJo Siwa romance rumours gather pace

The pair have been spotted sharing an intimate moment while on holiday in Mexico

Politics

31 h. ago Spain's socialist authorities 'were experimenting with how far they could push reliance on renewable energy' before country suffered huge power blackout

As people wait for answers about what caused the dystopian power cut, several have questioned Spain's heavy reliance on renewable energy sources.

Culture

51 h. ago Germany boosts Nato’s eastern flank with new Baltic brigade amid threat from Russia – Europe live

Friedrich Merz visits Lithuania to mark the official formation of Germany’s first permanent overseas military unit since the second world warPortugal wants European energy regulators’ agency ACER to lead an independent investigation into the causes of the huge power outage that brought most of Spain and Portugal to a standstill last month, its acting energy minister told Reuters.Maria da Graça Carvalho said prime minister Luís Montenegro wants an independent investigation led by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to complement the technical report being prepared by the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago ‘Incoming’: Tyson Fury in ‘business meeting’ as return rumours gather pace

The former heavyweight champion announced his latest ‘retirement’ in January but is poised to return to the ring later this year

Politics

1 week ago Massive solar storm causes worldwide blackouts as experts warn the worst is yet to come

The sun has unleashed the strongest solar flare of the year, triggering strong radio blackouts across the globe.

Events

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 Labour's jobs downturn: Fall in payrolls and vacancies gathers pace as Rachel Reeves' NICs raid hits

Numbers on payrolls were down 33,000 in April according to early estimates, having dropped 106,000 in the past year to 30.3million.

Events

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

2 w. ago Spanish island hit by power outage as thousands left in the dark

The island was not affected by the massive blackout that hit most of Spain and Portugal on April 28

Events

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 Spain power outage LIVE: Tens of thousands hit by fresh Canary Islands blackout

Thousands of people have been affected by a fresh power outage in Spain after a major incident at the end of last month led to an unprecedented state of emergency

Events

2 w. ago UK officials land in Washington as talks over trade agreement continue

Senior negotiators hope to get agreement with US signed ahead of UK-EU summit on 19 May A team of senior British trade negotiators has landed in Washington as talks over a deal between the two countries gather pace.Officials from the business and trade department are in the US for much of this week attempting to get an agreement signed before the planned UK-EU summit on 19 May. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The iPhone 17 launches in a few months – here’s all the rumours you need to know

Leaks about the upcoming iPhone 17 are gathering pace, and there could even be a new iPhone Air

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 'Cash rule' warning for UK tourists in Spain, France and Portugal amid power outage threats

Holidaymakers have been urged to ensure they are carrying physical cash

Events

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

3 w. ago All the iPhone 17 rumours to know, from release date to price

Leaks about the upcoming iPhone 17 are gathering pace, and there could even be a new iPhone Air

Economics

3 w. ago ‘No one knew what to do’: power cuts bring chaos, connection and revaluation of digital dependency

People share their experiences of Monday’s massive power outage across Spain, Portugal and parts of France that upended modern life“It felt like chaos,” said Iñigo, a doctor at a hospital in northern Spain.With no electricity from noon on Monday, the building’s emergency generators were kept for the critical areas, leaving staff without access to patient data, broken communications due to no telephone signal or email, and colleagues unable to carry out some of their duties, he said. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Shoes on at home or shoes off? If you care about your health, it’s a no

One study reported that 96% of shoes carry coliform bacteria, commonly found in faecal matter. So why is it so uncool to ask visitors to take them off?It is a truth almost universally unacknowledged in the UK that wearing shoes in the home is gross. More than gross, actually – there’s scientific evidence it could have serious health consequences and even, if you want to come over all dramatic about it, be life-threatening. And yet I can count on the fingers of no hands the people I know who ask me to remove my shoes when I visit.Until now this has been an uncomplicatedly divisive subject: you were either a Shoes Off household, or you weren’t. But a secret underground movement is gathering pace – the Shoes On households who wish they were Shoes Off, but are worried about the uptight implications of rolling out that policy. Can you be a Shoes Off household while avoiding Shoes Off household energy?Polly Hudson is a freelance writer Continue reading...

Society