A massive and unprecedented power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, affecting millions across the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica reported that restoring electricity to large parts of the country could take between six to 10 hours. The cause of the blackout remains unclear, although authorities ruled out a cyberattack.
The outage, described as “exceptional and extraordinary” by Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, left many areas without power, including subway systems, traffic lights, phone lines, and ATM machines. The outage even forced the suspension of play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, where several matches were in progress when the power went out.
The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center also confirmed there were no signs of a cyberattack. Both the Spanish and Portuguese governments initiated emergency meetings, with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visiting Red Eléctrica to oversee efforts to restore power. The Portuguese cabinet convened an emergency session at the prime minister’s residence.
The power failure was a rare event for the Iberian Peninsula, which has a combined population of over 50 million people. According to Spain’s electricity network operator, power recovery efforts were underway, with electricity being restored progressively across the north and south of the country.
In Portugal, the outage was attributed to “a problem with the European electricity system,” according to the country’s distributor, E-Redes. To stabilize the network, power was cut in specific areas. The blackout affected Lisbon, northern and southern parts of Portugal, and regions of southwest France. Emergency services in both countries switched to backup power systems, and police directed traffic as traffic lights and road signage were out.
In Spain, the power failure caused a significant drop in electricity demand, as evidenced by a graph on the country’s electricity network website, which showed demand plummeting from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000 megawatts at 12:15 p.m. local time. Metro stations were evacuated in Madrid, and Barcelona’s stations were left in the dark, while traffic disruptions occurred due to the failure of traffic lights.
In response, people in Spain rushed to buy generators, with stores in areas like Terrassa near Barcelona running out of stock. In Portugal, gas stations ceased operations, hospitals and emergency services switched to backup generators, and electronic payment systems were disrupted.
Source: Swifteradio.com
