Major power outage disrupts Spain, Portugal; cause unknown

Lights flickered back to life early Tuesday in Spain and Portugal after a massive blackout swept across the Iberian Peninsula, stranding passengers in trains and elevators, while knocking out phone and internet services for millions.

Spain’s power operator Red Electrica (REE) said more than 60% of the national electricity supply had been restored by the end of Monday. Power returned to major cities, including Madrid and Lisbon.

The outage, which hit just after midday Monday, disrupted life for nearly 60 million people across the peninsula. Although no official cause has been confirmed, wild speculation about a cyberattack circulated on messaging platforms.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the source of the blackout was “probably in Spain.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said “all the potential causes” were being analyzed and urged the public “not to speculate” due to the risk of “misinformation.”

Sanchez described the scale of the event, noting that about 15 gigawatts of electricity — more than half of the country’s power usage at the time — “suddenly disappeared” in about five seconds. He said it was unclear when full restoration would occur, warning that “some workers would have to stay home Tuesday.” Montenegro assured the public that Portugal’s power would be back “within hours.”

The blackout also briefly reached into southwestern France, and Morocco reported disruptions to internet providers and airport check-in systems.

In Madrid, 19-year-old construction worker Carlos Candori was among thousands affected by the shutdown of the metro system. “People were stunned,” he said.
“This has never happened in Spain. There’s no (phone) coverage, I can’t call my family, my parents, nothing: I can’t even go to work,” he told AFP.

Cash queues and transport chaos

In cities across Spain and Portugal, panicked residents rushed to withdraw cash as mobile networks collapsed. Long lines formed for taxis and buses while police struggled to manage traffic with stoplights out. Authorities urged motorists to stay off the roads.

Madrid’s regional authorities reported 286 rescue operations to free people trapped in elevators. Rail services were halted nationwide, and by late Monday, the transport minister said 11 trains still had stranded passengers requiring assistance.

Train stations in at least eight major cities — including Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, and Seville — remained open overnight to accommodate those left without transport options.

Spain's nuclear power plants were automatically taken offline as a safety precaution, the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said. Diesel generators maintained them in a “safe condition.”

Sanchez acknowledged the blackout had caused “serious disruption” for millions and led to “economic losses in businesses, in companies, in industries.”

The European Commission said it was in contact with both Spain and Portugal regarding the outage. European Council President Antonio Costa said on X, “There are no indications of any cyberattack.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed solidarity in a call to Sanchez, noting Ukraine’s experience with electrical grid attacks during its conflict with Russia.
“No matter what happens, we are always ready to assist and support our friends,” he said on X.

Digital infrastructure collapses, flights disrupted

According to Netblocks, a global internet monitoring service, the outage caused a “loss of much of the country’s digital infrastructure,” reducing internet activity to just 17% of normal levels.

Hospitals in Spain reportedly switched to backup generators to maintain critical operations, although some units were left without power, El Pais reported.

The blackout also affected flights in and out of Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon, according to European air traffic organization Eurocontrol.

In Barcelona, the power failure forced students like Laia Montserrat to leave school.
“As the internet wasn’t coming back, they told us to go home... (but) there weren’t trains either,” she told AFP. “Now we don’t know what to do.”

Historical context

The blackout is the latest in a string of large-scale power failures to hit various countries in recent years. Notable outages occurred in Tunisia (2023), Sri Lanka (2020), and Argentina and Uruguay (2019). Europe’s last major power failure in 2006 affected 10 million people across six countries, including Spain.