German Utility Caused European Blackout

German utility E.On AG confirmed causing a weekend outage that left millions of people in several European countries without power, but denied Monday that the blackout revealed a lack of investment in Europe's power grids.

E.On said it switched off a high-voltage transmission line over a German river to allow a cruise ship to pass safely.

That triggered a blackout that briefly left 10 million people in countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain without power Saturday night, stopping trains in their tracks and trapping people in elevators.

On Monday, the European Union's top energy official called the blackouts "unacceptable" and urged the strengthening of electrical network security to prevent a repeat.

"Events in one part of Europe impact on other parts and once again confirm the need for a proper European energy policy," Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement from Brussels.

He said experts must make sure it does not happen again.

"Whilst these blackouts lasted for relatively short periods of time, they are unacceptable," he said.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was among European leaders who called for better coordination of European electricity grids as well as more investment.

But a senior executive with Essen-based E.On rejected accusations from German and French ministers that the blackout revealed a lack of investment in Europe's increasingly interlinked power grids.

"The networks are in good condition and are constantly maintained. We are investing in these networks," Klaus-Dieter Maubach said on Germany's ZDF television.

He said E.On would spend US$3.6 billion in the coming years to improve and expand its electricity networks.

Germany and France were badly hit by the cuts late Saturday. Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain were also affected, though supplies to most regions were quickly restored. No injuries were reported.