Spanish minister says private power firms slow to share information in blackout probe

By Pietro Lombardi

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen urged private electricity companies to speed up sharing information needed to identify the causes of the worst ever blackout to hit Spain and Portugal.

More than a month after one of Europe's biggest electricity system collapses left around 60 million people in the two countries without power, the cause has yet to be determined and the blame game has intensified.

"At the beginning, when we requested information, it arrived very quickly," Aagesen told reporters from Nice, France, where she was attending a U.N. conference. "Now we're in a situation where information arrives in dribs and drabs, much more slowly."

She acknowledged though that the information required was now more detailed and, at times, more complex.

"But I insist, I continue to call for this information to be delivered as soon as possible so we can identify the causes and implement the necessary measures," she said.

Spain's energy ministry is leading one of the probes looking into the April 28 events, which sent investigators from the country's cybersecurity and intelligence services to private energy companies' premises to gather information.

An energy ministry spokesperson declined to comment when asked about what information Aagesen was referring to.

Utility lobby Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Last week, it said private companies have been cooperating with the investigations.

"It is absolutely false that they are withholding information or delaying their responses to requests related to the recent blackout," it said at the time.

PROBES AND FINGER-POINTING

The European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E has also launched an inquiry, while a Spanish court is investigating whether a cyber attack caused the blackout. Spanish lawmakers are conducting separate probes.

Spanish grid operator Red Electrica insists the transmission grid it manages was working without issues before the blackout.

Beatriz Corredor, the chair of its parent company Redeia, last week blamed some conventional power plants, which include nuclear, combined cycles and hydroelectric plants, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level in the power system that day. Corredor stopped short of saying this caused the blackout.

Investigators are examining excessive voltage on the grid as one possible cause for the loss of generation.

Aelec said Corredor's comments sowed confusion and obstructed an objective technical analysis.

(Reporting by Pietro Lombardi, edited by Aislinn Laing and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)