From Italy to Texas: The Other Greatest Blackouts in History

Monday's historic power outage on the Iberian Peninsula ranks 11th on the list of the most massive blackouts in history. 2021. Let's review the most significant.

Just two years ago, on January 23, 2023, a power outage in Pakistan left 230 million people without power, 99% of the country's population. It was the second largest blackout on record in the world, behind only the one suffered by India on July 31, 2012, which left 670 million people affected. These two countries have suffered larger blackouts: Pakistan also suffered one in 2021 on January 9, 2021, which, due to another power outage, left 200 million people without power; and in 2001, in India, another outage affected 230 million people.

Texas (2021)

Among the longest blackouts in recent years is the one that affected the US state of Texas in 2021. It lasted 89 days (from February 10 to May 18) and affected up to 10 million people. It was caused by the impact on the electrical grid of the historic cold that year that affected much of the northern hemisphere due to the weakening of the polar vortexRising temperatures over the Arctic are causing this stream of icy winds, normally concentrated over the North Pole, to escape southward. Temperatures in Texas reached -18°C in those days, a temperature not seen in 35 years, and the massive failure of the energy system generated a historic crisis in the state.

Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (2019)

On June 16, 2019, at approximately 7:00 a.m. local time, a failure in the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI) caused a massive blackout that left nearly 48 million people without power in Argentina and parts of Uruguay and Paraguay. The outage was attributed to a technical error following a planned maneuver in the electrical system. In Argentina, the consequences were particularly severe: train and subway service was interrupted for several hours and thousands of people were left without access to drinking water. The blackout, considered unprecedented in its magnitude, coincided with Father's Day and gubernatorial elections in several provinces.

The restoration of power supply was gradual. In Argentina, it took between 6 and 14 hours, depending on the region. In Uruguay, most service was restored between 3 and 5 hours after the outage. In Paraguay, the impact was much more limited, with only some areas in the south experiencing power outages that were quickly restored.

Türkiye (2015)

On March 31, 2015, at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time, a massive blackout began, leaving almost the entire country in darkness. Technical disruption to the transmission system caused the national power grid to disconnect, triggering a cascade of outages across the country. It was initially attributed to an overloaded power line, and there was even speculation about the possibility of a cyberattack.

Germany (2006)

On November 4, 2006, a massive power outage rocked Europe, affecting millions of people in several countries. The incident originated in Germany when E.ON Netz disconnected a high-voltage line to allow a cruise ship to pass on the Ems River. This maneuver, carried out without proper coordination with other European operators and with an incomplete safety analysis, was carried out without prior communication. The disconnection overloaded other lines, caused automatic disconnections, and a chain reaction that split the European grid into three unsynchronized sections. More than 10 million people suffered power outages. In Germany, hundreds of trains were halted. France, except for the southeast, was virtually without power. Belgium, Italy (Piedmont, Liguria, Puglia), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza, Andalusia, but for a very short time), and Morocco were also affected by this serious failure in the European electrical system.

Italy (2003)

In the early hours of September 28, 2003, Italy suffered a widespread blackout that affected most of the country. The power outage, which began around 3:30 a.m. local time, was caused by an overload in the Swiss grid that quickly spread to the Italian system. Up to 56 million citizens remained without electricity for hours, with immediate consequences for rail transport and urban traffic, which were paralyzed. Hospitals and essential services operated with generators. Power was restored gradually, beginning on the islands and continuing throughout the day in the rest of the country. The blackout highlighted the vulnerability of Italy's energy infrastructure and the need for improvements in emergency management and response.

United States (2003)

On August 14, 2003, much of the northeastern and midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario suffered a widespread blackout. Power began to be restored at 11:00 a.m., but in some places it wasn't restored for two weeks. It affected 45 million people in eight U.S. states and 8 million in Canada. The primary cause was a software error in the FirstEnergy control room alarm system that caused operators to be unaware of an electrical system overload after trees fell on transmission lines.

Utah (1981)

If we go further back in time, we find one of the longest-lasting blackouts, not the most massive, in the US state of Utah in 1981. This blackout lasted from January 8 to May 26, a total of 138 days, and affected 1.5 million people. The outage occurred when a group of prisoners at the Utah State Prison were burning garbage, causing an explosion that generated a large fireball that cut off power lines. But Puerto Rico tops the list of longest-lasting power outages due to hurricanes. Irma and Maria, which left up to 2 million people without power in a situation that lasted nearly a year, from September 6, 2017, to August 7, 2018.