Brussels, 08/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - According to AFP, the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) blames the power cuts which recently hit Europe on a lack of modernisation and co-ordination of national energy transmission networks. In a document published in Rome on Tuesday, on the occasion of the second World Forum on Energy Regulation, the CEER stated that insufficient capacity only very rarely causes power cuts. It is more often transmission capacity, especially for cross-border interconnections, which are apparently lacking in European countries. The document also tells of management problems, a lack of co-operation between the companies that run the networks, and emergency reactivation plans for networks which are "outdated in many countries". "The checking systems are not modern enough, and information does not get there quickly, at least not quickly enough", CEER chairman Jorge Vasconcelos told the press, recommending investment in current-transmission lines and in IT, as well as setting up a joint information procedure in real time between national network management companies.
After Italy, it was Austria and the Czech Republic's turn for power cuts. On Tuesday evening, the Austrian capital, Vienna, was plunged into darkness for several hours, due to a power cut affecting the street lighting. On Monday night, several villages in the west of the Czech Republic were without electricity.