E.on admits causing Europe wide power cuts - human error

The German electricity generator and power distributor E.ON has admitted it caused the Europe wide blackouts, by switching off a power cable across the River Ems to allow a cruise ship to pass.

This meant areas to the west were left with a power deficit, while cables in the east were overloaded.

Supplies cut out in Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Italy.

However quick witted Swiss operators , connected to the German network, spotted the drop in supply and boosted domestic electricity output to compensate, said Monika Walser, spokeswoman for the Swiss power grid Etrans.

The BBC have prepared an excellent analysis in the form of an FAQ sheet about the outage which interested readers would benefit from reading.