Czech Republic hit by major power outage triggered by fallen cable
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Czech Republic hit by major power outage triggered by fallen cable
The outage was nearly fully resolved by 1600 GMT (midnight in Singapore) It halted international and local trains and public transport in several cities. About 1,000 mobile phone network stations were affected and ran on back-up systems. The incident is likely to add to concerns about the resilience of Europe’s power infrastructure after Spain suffered the worst blackout in its history in April and a fire knocked out the power supply to London’s Heathrow airport in March. It is not known what caused the power cable to fall, but it had knock-on effects, overburdening another line and substation, forcing part of the grid to operate as an island, cut off from other parts of the European grid. The fallen line, serving an area with lignite power plants, has been included in a modernisation plan and is due to be doubled by 2028.
Crashed cars are seen at an intersection in Prague, after a power outage caused traffic lights to stop working on July 4.
PRAGUE – A power outage in large parts of the Czech Republic, including Prague, trapped people in public transport and lifts and idled factories on July 4 after a fallen high-voltage cable disrupted the network.
The incident is likely to add to concerns about the resilience of Europe’s power infrastructure after Spain suffered the worst blackout in its history in April and a fire knocked out the power supply to London’s Heathrow airport in March.
“There was a massive power outage in part of Prague and in the northern and eastern Czech Republic around 12pm today,” the Industry and Trade Ministry said. “The cause was the fall of a power cable, not a cyberattack nor a failure of renewable resources.”
The outage was nearly fully resolved by 1600 GMT (midnight in Singapore).
It halted international and local trains and public transport in several cities, including Prague, where the underground was briefly shut down and trams were at a halt for hours. About 1,000 mobile phone network stations were affected and ran on back-up systems.
National transmission system operator CEPS declared a nationwide state of emergency after the V411 transmission grid line and the Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant failed. It was not known what caused the power cable to fall.
This had knock-on effects, overburdening another line and substation, and forcing part of the grid to operate as an island, cut off from other parts of the European grid.
The Czech Republic has dozens of substations – facilities that convert electricity into different voltages so it can be transmitted throughout the country and distributed locally.
CEPS had earlier said the fallen line on the 45km high-voltage line in the north-west of the country had affected eight of these substations and caused blackouts in five of the Czech Republic’s 14 regions.
Immobilised trams in Prague, the Czech Republic’s capital, on July 4. PHOTO: REUTERS
The fallen line, serving an area with lignite power plants, has been included in a modernisation plan and is due to be doubled in capacity by 2028.
The Ledvice 6 power plant, which was also affected, is a 660 megawatt, coal-fired plant built in 2017 and operated by CEZ. CEZ did not comment on the plant.
System restored
All affected substations had power back before 1300 GMT, CEPS said, but distribution companies were working for hours more to restore supplies to customers.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a briefing that about 2,000 customers remained without power just before 1600 GMT. He said around half a million had been affected earlier.
Across the country, the outage caused 215 incidents involving people trapped in elevators, fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis told Reuters, adding everyone had been rescued.
Passengers resting at the Main Railway Station in Prague, amid train delays due to the power outage. PHOTO: REUTERS
The prison authority said 13 prisons had lost power, but that security had not been compromised. Three large hospitals in Prague temporarily ran on back-up power.
Orlen Unipetrol’s Czech refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov went into emergency shutdown, the company said on X.
After power supplies resumed, it began restarting operations, but said the process would take several days.
UPDATE 3-Czech Republic hit by major power outage
Power outage in parts of the Czech Republic on Friday trapped people in lifts and halted hundreds of trains. Authorities said a fallen high-voltage cable was the likely cause. The outage began just before noon local time (1000 GMT) and had yet to be fully resolved by 1350 GMT. It halted public transport in several cities, including Prague, where the underground was briefly shut down and trams stood idle for hours. Following the outage in Spain in May, analysts said that Europe’s ageing power grid and lack of energy storage capacity will require trillions of dollars in investments.
“As a result of a fallen power cable, there was an outage of the V411 transmission grid line and the Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant,” national high-voltage grid operator CEPS said. This had knock-on effects, overburdening another line and substation, cutting off part of the country from the grid, it said.
The outage began just before noon local time (1000 GMT) and had yet to be fully resolved by 1350 GMT. It halted public transport in several cities, including Prague, where the underground was briefly shut down and trams stood idle for hours.
The Czech Republic has dozens of substations – facilities that convert electricity into different voltages so it can be transmitted throughout a country and distributed locally. CEPS had earlier said the fallen line on the 45 kilometre (29 miles) high-voltage line in the northwest of the country had affected eight of these substations and caused widespread blackouts in five of the Czech Republic’s 14 regions.
All affected substations had power back before 1300 GMT, CEPS said, but distribution companies were still working to restore supplies elsewhere. Prague city transport was nearly fully restored after three hours, but trains in many places remained at a halt. Prague’s power distribution company said it expected full restoration by 1400 GMT.
Speaking on Czech Television, Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said the authorities had no information to suggest there had been a cyber or terrorist attack. Across the country, the outage caused 215 incidents involving people trapped in elevators, fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis told Reuters, adding everyone had been rescued.
The justice ministry said 10 prisons had lost power, but that security had not been compromised. Three large hospitals in Prague temporarily ran on back-up power. Orlen Unipetrol’s Czech refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov went into an emergency shutdown, the company said on X.
E.ON, which operates part of the grid in south and south-eastern Czech Republic, said its supply area was not affected. Following the outage in Spain in May, analysts said that Europe’s ageing power grid and lack of energy storage capacity will require trillions of dollars in investments to cope with rising green energy output and increasing electricity demand.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia launches one of war’s largest air attacks on Kyiv
Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Kyiv in over three years of war. Russian attack also damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site. At least four people were treated in hospital after seven of the capital’s 10 districts were hit. All seven missiles launched by Russia were also brought down, Moscow said.. A State Department spokesperson said Washington was monitoring the situation closely, adding that it was time for an end to the war. Both sides deny targeting civilians but thousands of civilians have been killed in the worst conflict since World War Two, the vast majority of them in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions.. Russia’s air force said it had fired 315 drones across the country, which were brought down by Russia’s military administration, which said 277 were downed by the Ukrainian military. The U.S. State Department condemned the strikes and extended its deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected. The Russian military said that its forces had attacked high-precision weapons and drones.
Russia launched biggest drone attack on Ukraine on Monday
Two people killed in Odesa, one in Kyiv, officials say
Maternity ward struck in Odesa, officials say
KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) – Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Kyiv in over three years of war and struck a maternity ward in the southern city of Odesa in attacks that killed at least three people, officials said on Tuesday.
The overnight strikes followed Russia’s biggest drone assault of the war on Ukraine on Monday and were part of intensified bombardments in what Moscow says is retaliation for attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russia.
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The Russian attack also damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site located in the historic centre of Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said.
“The enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again,” Tochytskyi wrote on Facebook about the site he called “the soul of all Ukraine”.
Loud explosions shook Kyiv and blasts and fires lit up the sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning, leaving palls of heavy smoke over the city, Reuters witnesses said. Authorities deployed two firefighting helicopters to douse flames.
One person died in the attack on Kyiv, city authorities said.
At least four people were treated in hospital after seven of the capital’s 10 districts were hit, city officials said.
“Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. “Russian missile and Shahed (drone) strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace.”
In Kyiv, Kateryna Zaitseva, 38, and her 14-year-old son looked at the rubble in their apartment, which received a direct hit by a drone. The explosion destroyed one room, damaged another and blew in the door of the bathroom in which they were hiding.
“We started moving blindly to the entrance door. I heard the voice of the emergency worker … I shouted that there were two of us, that we were unhurt and he helped us,” said Zaitseva, a laboratory technician.
In the southern port of Odesa, an overnight drone attack hit an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
Two men were killed in that attack but patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, he said.
Iryna Britkaru, 23, who gave birth to a girl on June 6, said projectiles had started hitting the building in Odesa as soon as she and other patients had been whisked to the basement by hospital staff.
“The third (impact) was already very loud, and shrapnel flew… (it) rained down in the corridor,” she told Reuters.
Natalia Kovalenko, 34, who five days ago also gave birth to a girl, said she was hoping for an end to the war.
“If we don’t have hope, then no one will be giving birth,” she said.
Item 1 of 18 Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter [1/18] Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
A State Department spokesperson said Washington was monitoring the situation closely, adding that it was time for an end to the war.
“Russia’s strikes against Ukraine’s cities need to stop immediately,” the spokesperson said.
“We condemn these strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.”
Both sides deny targeting civilians but thousands of civilians have been killed in Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed that its forces had attacked military targets in Kyiv with high-precision weapons and drones overnight, Russia’s TASS state news agency reported.
‘A DIFFICULT NIGHT’
Air raid alerts in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions lasted five hours until around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to information released by the military.
“A difficult night for all of us,” Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired 315 drones across the country, of which 277 were downed. All seven missiles launched by Russia were also brought down, it said.
Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine following Kyiv’s strikes on strategic bombers at air bases inside Russia on June 1. Moscow also blamed Kyiv for bridge explosions on the same day that killed seven and injured scores.
Over the past week, Russia has launched 1,451 drones and 78 missiles to attack Ukraine, according to Ukrainian air force data.
Russia temporarily halted flights , opens new tab overnight at four airports serving Moscow, at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport and at airports in nine other cities after the defence ministry said Ukraine had launched more drones at Russia, officials said.
Most flights were restored later on Tuesday. No damage was reported.
Zelenskiy urged Ukraine’s allies to take steps to force Russia into peace, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for immediate new sanctions and air defence systems.
Although Moscow and Kyiv have held two rounds of direct peace talks in recent weeks, the only tangible progress has been an agreement on exchanges of prisoners of war , and Russia has continued to advance along the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the lack of progress towards ending the war, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with both sides.
Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Anastasiia Malenko in Kyiv and Irina Nazarchuk in Odesa; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Timothy Heritage, Gareth Jones and Aidan Lewis
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Dollar gains as Trump reignites trade concerns
The dollar dropped to a three-and-a-half-year low against the euro earlier on Friday as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will cut rates more times. The Canadian dollar extended losses on the day after Trump said the U.S. is immediately ending trade talks with Canada in response to the country’s digital services tax on technology companies. The dollar index was little changed at 97.36 and is on pace for a 1.40% weekly decline, the worst since May 19. The euro was last up 0.05% at $1.1705, the highest since September 2021. It is on track for an 1.57% weekly gain, the best since May 18. The British pound was last down 0.19% at £1.3701 and is heading for a 2.26% weekly drop, the largest drop since April 7. The Australian dollar rose 0.06% to $0.7157 and is set for a 0.85% weekly rise. The New Zealand dollar rose 1.1% to £0.7770 and is due to rise 1.2% for the week.
Summary Dollar gains on risk aversion after Trump raises trade concerns
U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell in May
Traders pricing in more dovish Federal Reserve
NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) – The dollar retraced earlier losses against the euro on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was ending trade talks with Canada and that he would consider bombing Iran again, denting risk appetite and sending stocks lower.
“Taken together, both messages highlight how erratic Trump is and that any assumptions built into markets can be instantly undermined,” said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive.
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“The knee-jerk has been to buy the U.S. dollar but once the smoke clears, that’s likely to retrace. The trade war has been a dollar drag all year,” Button said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Friday the Trump administration’s various trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday.
The Canadian dollar extended losses on the day, however, after Trump said the U.S. is immediately ending trade talks with Canada in response to the country’s digital services tax on technology companies. It was last down 0.5% versus the greenback at C$1.37 per dollar.
Trump also sharply criticized Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels.
The dollar dropped to a three-and-a-half-year low against the euro earlier on Friday as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will cut rates more times and possibly sooner than previously expected as some U.S. data points to a weakening economy.
A report on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell in May as the boost from the pre-emptive buying of goods like motor vehicles ahead of tariffs faded, while monthly inflation increases remained moderate.
A weekly jobs report on Thursday showed that continuing unemployment claims rose to the highest level since November 2021 while gross domestic product figures for the first quarter reflected a sharp downgrade to consumer spending.
“Some of the data that we’ve had has not been particularly good over the last few days,” said Lou Brien, strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to U.S. Congress this week was interpreted as dovish after he noted that rate cuts are likely if inflation doesn’t increase this summer as he expects.
Reports that U.S. President Donald Trump could also appoint a replacement for Powell in the coming months have added to dollar weakness.
The new Fed chair is expected to be more dovish and an early appointment could undermine Powell’s influence by acting as a shadow chair before Powell’s term ends in May.
Trump has not decided on Powell’s replacement and a decision isn’t imminent , a person familiar with the White House’s deliberations said on Thursday.
Fed rate cuts would reduce the interest rate advantage of the dollar relative to peers.
Traders are pricing in 65 basis points of cuts by year end, up from 46 basis points a week ago.
The dollar index was little changed on the day at 97.36 and is on pace for a 1.40% weekly decline, the worst since May 19.
The euro was last up 0.05% at $1.1705 and reached $1.1754, the highest since September 2021. It is on track for a 1.57% weekly gain, the best since May 19.
Sterling weakened 0.19% to $1.3701 and was on track for a 1.85% weekly gain, its best week since May 19. The dollar fell 0.06% to 0.8 Swiss franc and is heading for a 2.26% weekly drop, the largest since April 7.
Top U.S. Republicans also confronted a yawning budget hole in their sprawling tax-cut and spending bill on Friday, signaling that they could miss Trump’s July 4 deadline as they rewrite dozens of elements rejected by a nonpartisan referee.
The long-term outlook for the dollar is seen as challenging as foreign investors reevaluate the “American exceptionalism” that has drawn investment to the country.
Brien said that the impact of the Biden administration’s policies was also still weighing on the currency.
Former President Joe Biden cut off Russia’s access to the U.S. dollar, froze its assets and imposed sanctions following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which analysts say led other countries to accelerate shifts away from U.S. dollar reliance.
“The Biden administration weaponized the dollar as it really had not been weaponized before,” Brien said. “That aspect of it is still in the back of people’s heads.”
Against the yen , the dollar strengthened 0.19% to 144.65. It is headed for a 0.94% weekly decline against the Japanese currency, the largest since May 19.
Core consumer inflation in Japan’s capital slowed sharply in June due to temporary cuts to utility bills but stayed well above the central bank’s 2% target, keeping alive market expectations for further interest rate hikes.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 0.86% to $106,879.
Reporting by Karen Brettell Additional reporting by Lucy Raitano and Ankur Banerjee Editing by Frances Kerry and Diane Craft
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US first-quarter GDP revised lower on tepid consumer spending
Gross domestic product decreased at a downwardly revised 0.5% annualized rate last quarter. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP accelerating at a 3.4% rate this quarter. A flood of imports as businesses rushed to bring in goods before President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs kicked in accounted for the bulk of the decrease in GDP. Consumer spending also slowed as the boost from pre-emptive buying of goods, especially motor vehicles, ahead of the import duties faded. The flow of imports has since subsided, positioning GDP for a sharp rebound in the second quarter.”The difficulty of accurately capturing the extraordinary foreign-trade and inventory gymnastics that companies undertook to avoid U.S. tariffs created serious measurement challenges,” an economist said.
WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. economy contracted a bit faster than previously thought in the first quarter amid tepid consumer spending, underscoring the distortions caused by the Trump administration’s aggressive tariffs on imported goods.
Gross domestic product decreased at a downwardly revised 0.5% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said in its third estimate of GDP on Thursday. It was previously reported to have dropped at a 0.2% pace. The revision reflected a sharp downgrade to consumer spending, which is now estimated to have increased at only a 0.5% pace instead of previously reported 1.2% rate.
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The economy grew at a 2.4% rate in the fourth quarter. Domestic demand growth was slashed to a 1.9% rate from the previously reported 2.5% pace.
A flood of imports as businesses rushed to bring in goods before President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs kicked in accounted for the bulk of the decrease in GDP. Consumer spending also slowed as the boost from pre-emptive buying of goods, especially motor vehicles, ahead of the import duties faded.
The flow of imports has since subsided, positioning GDP for a sharp rebound in the second quarter. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP accelerating at a 3.4% rate this quarter. Given the gyrations from imports, economists cautioned against interpreting the anticipated rebound in GDP as a sign of economic strength. Data on retail sales, the housing and labor markets have suggested economic activity is softening.
“The difficulty of accurately capturing the extraordinary foreign-trade and inventory gymnastics that companies undertook to avoid U.S. tariffs created serious measurement challenges that will linger for some time to come,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP
When measured from the income side, the economy grew at an upwardly revised 0.2% rate in the first quarter. Gross domestic income (GDI) was initially estimated to have declined at a 0.2% pace. That reflected an upward revision to corporate profits. Profits from current production with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments decreased $90.6 billion in the first quarter, an upward revision of $27.5 billion.
The average of GDP and GDI, also referred to as gross domestic output and considered a better measure of economic activity, dropped at an upwardly revised 0.1% rate.
Gross domestic output was initially reported to have decreased at a 0.2% pace.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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