VIGO – Just at a time when many residents of the northwestern Spanish city were watching or listening to the draw of the big Christmas lottery El Gordo, the steam went out. Fortunately, it only lasted three minutes, but the size of the affected area was unprecedented.
After 10.30 am the whole of Vigo was without power for a while. The lights went out in areas such as Samil, Areal, the Povisa area, Vialia, Travesía de Vigo, the Stellantis factory and even the Álvaro Cunqueiro hospital. But also in other municipalities in the area, such as O Porriño or Chapela.
What happened?
According to official Naturgy sources, quoted in the Faro de Vigo newspaper, the power outage of about three minutes was caused by causes beyond the company’s control. The supply is said to have stopped due to work carried out on the high voltage cables by red Eléctrica Española (REE) in Atios (O Porriño). This subsequently affected the entire Naturgy medium-voltage grid in Vigo and its immediate vicinity.
According to official Red Eléctrica sources, the problem arose during renovation and improvement works at the Pazos de Borbén substation. “For reasons still under investigation, the connection was cut. This caused a three-minute power outage in the city of Vigo at 10.35 am.
Red Eléctrica’s technicians acted as quickly as possible so that all service was restored by 10.38 am. They worked in consultation with the distribution company. However, the causes of the incident are still under investigation. And will be reported as soon as possible,” the same sources said.
Unrest on social media
The power supply was cut for just three minutes, but social networks spread like wildfire. Many users joked the blackout was caused by the millions of lights supposed to bring Vigo into the Christmas spirit.
Related article: How Madrid is preparing for a potential major power outage
