FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2017 file photo high power cables hang from a pole on a field in Hattersheim, Germany. ​​Millions of Europeans who arrived late to work or school Wednesday March 7, 2018 have a good excuse: an unprecedented slowing of the frequency of the continent’s electricity grid. The Brussels-based European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, or ENTSO-E, says the problem began mid-January and affects 25 countries, from Portugal to Poland and Greece and Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)
Republished March 07, 2018 - 6:52 AM
Original Publication Date March 07, 2018 - 6:16 AM
BERLIN - Millions of Europeans who arrived late to work or school have a good excuse — an unprecedented slowing of the frequency of the continent's electricity grid.
The Brussels-based European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, or ENTSO-E, said Wednesday the problem began mid-January and affects 25 countries, from Portugal to Poland and Greece to Germany.
It says the deviation from Europe's standard 50 Hz frequency is caused by a loss of energy in the area of Kosovo and Serbia because of a political dispute between the two countries.
Electric clocks keeping time by the power system's frequency, rather than built-in quartz crystals, have fallen behind by about 6 minutes.
ENTSO-E said it's working on a technical solution that could bring the system back to normal within "a few weeks."
News from © The Associated Press, 2018