REE, Spain’s national grid operator, said it had identified two incidents of power generation loss, probably from solar plants, in the country’s south-west. These incidents caused instability in the electric system and led to a breakdown of its interconnection with France. It has ruled out a cyber attack as the cause.

If nothing else, the Iberian Peninsula fiasco has flagged up like nothing before just how vulnerable our society is, especially when massive changes to something as important as the power grid are forced through in a rush. The implications for Britain, where the present Government is desperate to make the whole nation totally reliant on renewable sources of electricity generation by 2030, are very serious indeed.