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Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica has indicated that restoring electricity to vast areas of both Spain and Portugal, affected by a significant and extraordinary outage on Monday, could take between 6 to 10 hours.
While the company refrained from speculating on the specific causes of the blackout, the Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center clarified that there were no indications it stemmed from a cyberattack.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, described the situation as unprecedented, labeling it an “exceptional and extraordinary” event.
The outage impacted diverse regions across both nations, including major metropolitan areas, disrupting subway services, telephone networks, traffic signals, and ATM operations.
Authorities are currently investigating the situation, with early indications from a Portuguese official suggesting that the issue may be linked to the electricity distribution system in Spain.
The Portuguese Cabinet convened an urgent meeting at the prime minister’s residence, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Red Eléctrica to monitor efforts to restore power.
Regional Impact and Cause Investigation
Spanning a combined population of over 50 million, the extent of the blackout’s impact remains unclear. Such widespread outages are rare occurrences for the Iberian Peninsula.
Several hours later, Spain’s electricity network operator reported that power restoration efforts were underway in both northern and southern regions of the country, which would facilitate a gradual return of services nationwide.
According to the Portuguese government, initial assessments pointed to problems originating outside the country’s networks. Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro remarked, “It appears to be a distribution network issue, seemingly linked to Spain,” as investigations continue.
The Portuguese distributor E-Redes characterized the outage as stemming from “a problem with the European electricity system,” which necessitated power cuts in certain areas to stabilize the overall network, as reported by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso.
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE noted that the outage occurred just after noon local time, leading to blackout conditions in various significant venues, including the Spanish parliament in Madrid and subway stations throughout the country.
A graph depicting demand on Spain’s electricity network showcased a dramatic decrease around 12:15 p.m., plummeting from 27,500 MW to nearly 15,000 MW.
In a rapid sequence of events, Javier Blas tweeted about significant power loss, indicating a drop exceeding 10 GW of demand within seconds, although the specific reasons for the failure remain unclear.
Video footage broadcast on Spanish television captured scenes of metro evacuation in Madrid and unattended stations in Barcelona. During the outage, play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was halted, impacting several matches in progress.
Spain’s traffic department advised residents to limit car usage due to the effects of the outage on traffic lights and electronic road signs. In Terrassa, an industrial town approximately 50 kilometers from Barcelona, local stores selling generators reported being overwhelmed by customers.
Additionally, E-Redes added that regions in France also experienced challenges linked to the power disruption.
In Portugal, the outage impacted the capital city, Lisbon, alongside surrounding regions and both northern and southern parts of the country. The Portuguese police increased their presence to manage traffic and assist individuals, including those trapped in elevators.
Emergency services, including hospitals, transitioned to generator power as gas stations ceased operations, and train services came to a halt. The National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection in Portugal confirmed that backup power systems were functioning, even as mobile phone networks struggled and some apps continued to operate.
Source
globalnews.ca