Power outage in Spain and Portugal today brings much of Europe’s Iberian Peninsula to a standstill

A massive and unprecedented power outage Monday hit large parts of Spain as well as Portugal. The blackout halted subway and railway trains, cut phone service and shut down traffic lights and ATMs for the millions of people who live across Europe’s Iberian Peninsula.

Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said that restoring power to the country could take up to 10 hours while a Portuguese electricity grid operator said fully restoring power in Portugal could take as long as a week.

Power outage hits Spain’s and Portugal’s capitals

The outage hit both countries’ capitals, Madrid and Lisbon. Offices closed and traffic was snarled as traffic lights stopped working. It was not possible to make calls on some mobile phone networks, though some apps were working. In Barcelona, residents walked into stores searching for battery-powered radios and civilians directed traffic at junctions along the Gran Via avenue that cuts through the city.

Portuguese grid operator REN said a rare atmospheric phenomenon in Spain from extreme temperature variations was behind the massive outage and that workers could need as long as a week to fully restore power, according to the Reuters news agency. However, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro expected power to be restored by the end of the day. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack.

Red Eléctrica declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout. Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Electrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event “exceptional and extraordinary.” By mid-afternoon, voltage was progressively being restored in the north, south and west of the peninsula, the company said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened an extraordinary meeting of Spain’s National Security Council and visited Red Eléctrica to follow efforts at restoring grid operations. Montenegro said he has spoken several times to Sanchez. The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime minister’s residence.

The countries have a combined population of about 60 million people. It was not immediately clear how many were affected. It is rare to have such a widespread outage across the Iberian Peninsula. 

Spain’s Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, located across the Mediterranean in Africa, were not impacted by the outage.

Portugal’s government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa.

“It looks like it was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. It’s still being ascertained,” Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro was quoted as saying.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to “a problem with the European electricity system,” according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso. The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilize the network, according to Expresso.

The blackout is the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the U.K. and comes as authorities across Europe gird against sabotage backed by Russia.

Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions of the country just after midday local time, leaving its newsroom, Spain’s parliament in Madrid and subway stations across the country in the dark.

A graph on Spain’s electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12:15 p.m. from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000 megawatts.

In Lisbon, terminals closed and throngs of tourists sat outside in the sun and the shade waiting for news about their flights.

“We haven’t seen any plane arriving or departing in the 50 minutes we’ve been waiting here,” Dutch tourist Marc Brandsma told The Associated Press.

Train services in both countries ground to a halt. Video aired on Spanish television showed people evacuating metro stations in Madrid and empty stations with trains stopped in Barcelona. Spain’s Transportation Minister Oscar Puente posted on social platform X that it wouldn’t be possible to restart trains later Monday, even if the power returned.

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended. Three matches were underway when power went down.

Spain’s traffic department asked citizens to avoid using their cars as much as possible due to the power outage, which has affected traffic lights and electrical road signage.

Barcelona’s streets filled with throngs of people on sidewalks, milling about in front of darkened stores and offices and exchanging information on what had happened.

Immediate concerns were which phone companies still had at least some spotty coverage, or where internet access might be found. Another concern was how to get home with the subway shut and public buses packed. Some took advantage of the lack of connectivity and transport to enjoy the sunshine on restaurant terraces.

In Terrassa, an industrial town 30 miles from Barcelona, stores selling generators were out of stock after people lined up to buy them.

Parts of France also were briefly affected, according to Reuters. French grid operator RTE said it was working to provide power to some parts of northern Spain.

In Portugal, a country of some 10.6 million people, the outage hit Lisbon and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts of the country. Portuguese police placed more officers on duty to direct traffic and cope with increased requests for help, including from people trapped in elevators.

Hospitals and other emergency services in both Spain and Portugal switched to generators. Gas stations stopped working.

Portugal’s National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said backup power systems were operating.

Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, reports said. Also in Portugal, courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected.