15.7.2021

Continental Europe electricity system separation incident of 8 January 2021: Next steps

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Continental Europe electricity system separation incident of 8 January 2021: Next steps

Next steps to investigate the incident

CE_incident split_update 26.02.21_CZ

Update of 15.07.2021

ACER and ENTSO-E issue a joint Press Release on the Final Report on the Expert Panel invest​igation into the 8th January 2021 incident.

Press Release messages:

  • Swift TSO coordination mitigated the incident and there was no major impact on consumers’ energy supply.

  • Ensuring security of electricity supply at European level is essential to Europe’s energy transition.

The Expert Panel’s final report:

  • provides a comprehensive analytical overview of the incident – the causes and the consequences.

  • proposes 22 recommendations to prevent and mitigate the consequences of similar events in the future.

  • calls for ENTSO-E/TSOs and ACER/national regulators to follow up on the implementation of these recommendations.

Update of 26.02.2021​

ACER and ENTSO-E issue a joint Press Release as the Expert Panel begins its invest​igation.

Next steps:

  • ACER and national regulators join ENTSO-E's Expert Panel investigating the electricity system separation of the Continental Europe synchronous area on 8 January 2021​.​

  • ​The Expert Panel will first meet on 4th March 2021.​

  • ENTSO-E's Interim Report is published

  • ​​The Expert Panel will identify the causes and make recommendations in a Final Report.

Update of 01.02.2021​

On 8 January 2021, the synchronous area of continental Europe's electricity system split into two separate regions resulting in transmission system outages. The re-synchronization of the two regions incident was resolved within an hour.

In accordance with the ENTSO-E's Incident Classification Scale Methodology (ICSM), the incident has been assessed as a Scale 2 (“extensive incident").

For Scale 2 incidents, a detailed report shall be prepared by an Expert Panel (EP) of Transmission System Operators (TSOs). The panel will be led by an expert from a TSO not affected by the incident. Relevant national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and ACER may be involved upon their request.

ENTSO-E provides regular updates on this topic and shares them on news section.​

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