• Strong winds, snowfall and low temperatures affected at least 44 Spanish provinces.
• The rapid response of the maintenance teams and the availability of a meshed grid significantly minimised potential issues regarding electricity supply.
   

Between 1:28 and 2:03 pm on 2 February, Storm Helena swept across Spain and affected 44 provinces, causing damage to electrical infrastructure, especially in the Basque Country and the north of Castilla y León. During this short period of time Red Eléctrica de España handled more than 50 incidents caused by strong winds, snowfall and low temperatures, and was able to guarantee the quality and security of the electricity supply at all times.

Despite the extreme weather conditions and numerous electricity faults registered in the transmission grid, the response of the transmission grid’s maintenance teams / the resilience of the transmission grid’s assets to this meteorological phenomenon has been highly satisfactory and has enabled the rapid restoration of the electricity supply service/its functionality.

From the outset, the Company mobilised all the necessary manpower and technical resources. Thus, over the weekend more than 30 people worked on the ground with snowmobiles, JCB-style backhoe loaders and snow ploughs to restore service to affected lines as quickly as possible.

The rapid response of Red Eléctrica’s maintenance teams, together with the availability of a meshed grid, prepared to withstand this type of meteorological phenomena, have significantly minimised the impact on supply in electricity distribution networks and on generators and have, at all times, ensured that the population was not affected by power outages.