An unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday, stopping trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula.
The Peninsula is home to more than 50 million people across both Spain and Portugal. It is not known exactly how many people were affected as authorities declined to share specific information.
The blackouts affected many densely populated urban areas. In Spain, major centres like Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Avila, Murcia, Galicia, Alicante and Zaragoza were affected. In Portugal, the two largest cities, Lisbon and Porto suffered similar challenges.
The reason behind the blackout remains unknown, but several officials have ruled out sabotage. “At this point, there are no indications of any cyber attack” wrote European Council President António Costa in a post on X.
Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica declined to speculate on the cause of the power outage that began around 12:30 pm Madrid time and said restoring power fully could take six to 10 hours.
Head of operations Eduardo Prieto told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event “exceptional and extraordinary.”
In a late night address shared on social media platforms, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that power 50% of the national supply had been restored, reassuring the nation that all state resources are being mobilised to tackle the crisis and resolve the issue.
“We'll be working flat out, all night long. With professionalism and commitment. As Spain always does in these situations,” wrote Sánchez.
Meanwhile, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said that state officials are still working tirelessly to restore connectivity to the affected areas.
“We are in constant contact with security forces, civil protection, the armed forces, hospitals, and fuel supply companies to ensure response capacity in essential infrastructure and support for those in need,” said Montenegro in a post on X.
Parts of southern France were also briefly impacted but officials say the service was quickly restored after a timely intervention.
Sánchez said a “strong oscillation” in the European grid was behind the outage but the cause was still being determined. He asked the public to refrain from speculation, and urged people to call emergency services only if really necessary.
It was the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks after a 20 March fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the UK.
The outage began after midday. Offices closed and traffic was snarled in major cities. In Barcelona civilians directed traffic. Train services in both countries stopped, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.
It wouldn’t be possible to restart trains later Monday even if the power returned, Spain’s Transportation Minister Oscar Puente posted on social media.
In Madrid, hundreds of people at a bus stop that takes travellers to the airport were trying to hitch-hike. Some held improvised signs to convince drivers to take them.
Hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators. Among those most affected were homebound patients dependent on oxygen machines. Gas stations stopped working.
It was not possible to make calls or send text messages on most mobile phone networks, though some people managed to connect on certain messaging apps with intermittent data connections. People searched stores for battery-powered radios to stay informed.
A graph on Spain’s electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12:30 pm from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000 megawatts.
Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems and some flights were delayed, according to Aena, which runs 56 airports in Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona.
In Lisbon, terminals closed and tourists sat outside waiting for news about flights.
The Spanish Parliament in Madrid closed. Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended. Some took advantage of the lack of connectivity to enjoy the sunshine on restaurant terraces, parks and beaches. Barcelona’s streets filled with throngs of people milling in front of darkened stores and exchanging information.
Sánchez convened an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council. Four regions of Spain declared an emergency and asked the central government in Madrid to take over management of the crisis.
The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime minister’s residence. Montenegro said he had spoken several times to Sánchez and expected power to be restored by the end of the day.
Lisbon said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country.
Electricity was being pulled from Morocco and France to restore power to southern and northern Spain, noted Sánchez, thanking their governments.
Spain was also increasing the production from hydroelectric and combined cycle thermal power plants.
