Spain PM launches inquiry into huge power cut, saying no cause ruled out

Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has vowed to "get to the bottom" of the huge power cut that hit the Iberian peninsula on Monday.

- Sam Jones

Energy operators in Spain and Portugal have ruled out the possibility of a cyber-attack. However, a criminal investigation was yesterday opened into whether "computer sabotage" could have been perpetrated "against critical Spanish infrastructure".

The blackout, which plunged cities into darkness and left tens of thousands of travellers trapped on trains, is thought to have led to the deaths of at least five people in Spain.

Speaking yesterday morning after electricity had been restored to both countries, Sánchez said it was still too early to know exactly what had gone wrong with the power supply, but that lessons would be learned to prevent further large-scale blackouts.

"It's clear that what happened yesterday can't happen again," he said, as he announced the creation of a commission to investigate the incident, which will also examine the role of private energy companies.

The prime minister said his administration would "get to the bottom of this matter", carrying out any necessary reforms and enacting any measures needed to ensure there was no repetition of Monday's events.

Portugal's prime minister, Luís Montenegro, said his government would ask the EU's Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to perform "an independent audit of the electrical systems of the affected countries to fully determine the causes of this situation".