Thumpin' Back to Power: Spain and Portugal Recover After Massive Blackout
Power supply mostly recovered in Spain and Portugal following significant breakdown - Power largely reinstated in Spain and Portugal following widespread blackouts.
Rumors of a cyber assault swirled throughout the web, but EU Council President António Costa, from Portugal, debunked them, stating on the online service X that there was no concrete evidence of a cyber attack.
As the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, declared that the blackout on Monday evening was most likely originating from neighboring Spain, Portugal reported a serious and unprecedented situation to the media.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese power grid operator REN triumphantly announced on Tuesday morning that power had been successfully restored for approximately 6.2 million of the 6.5 million households in Portugal overnight.
Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, aimed to restore power "overnight" with power supplies sourced from France and Morocco. During a televised address on Monday evening, he left the exact timeline for full power restoration undetermined and cautioned that some people may not be able to work the next day.
Sánchez remained open to all possible explanations for the outage, assuring the public that all potential causes were under scrutiny in a cautious effort to quell "speculation" and "misinformation." Cases of power loss on the Iberian Peninsula began on Monday afternoon, as unknown factors caused a sudden blackout, taking out more than half of the power being consumed at the time - 15 gigawatts.
Morocco and parts of northern, southern, and western Spain experienced temporary disruptions. While some internet providers and airport check-in systems in Morocco suffered hiccups, the European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol reported flight disruptions from and to Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon as a result of the power outage.
Major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona saw their residents take to the streets with their phones in hand, searching for a shred of signal. Traffic lights stuttered, and police had to intervene to regulate traffic flow, causing cars to move at a snail's pace. Long lines formed at ATMs. The Internet networks struggled as well, trapping people in elevators, some of whom required rescue operations totaling 286 in Madrid alone.
The Spanish road traffic authority DGT discouraged road trips during the blackout, while the Spanish rail network operator Adif confirmed the interruption of rail traffic. Around ten hours after the power outage, there were eleven trains with passengers still stranded in Spain. According to Transport Minister Oscar Puente, these trains were yet to be reconnected to the power supply.
Authorities across the affected regions planned to keep major train stations open for the night to accommodate displaced passengers seeking shelter.
- Spain
- Portugal
- Electricity
- Power outage
- Sánchez
- Power supply
- Outage
- Morocco
- Madrid
- Red Eléctrica de España
- Barcelona
- EU
- António Costa
- Montenegro
- France
Insights:- Although a confirmed cause hasn't been identified, it seems cyber threats may have been behind some concerns since reports mentioned potential sabotage or attacks on critical infrastructure.- Authorities have been cautious to substantiate rumors of cyber attacks, with officials instead reversing efforts to resolve the power issues and investigate technical failures.- The massive power failure represents a 60% drop in Spain's real-time power demand, affecting approximately 60 million people on the Iberian Peninsula.- As of the latest details, 99% of Spain's power had been restored, and efforts are underway to restore the remaining supply.- EU leaders have vowed to prevent similar recurrences, promising to implement "all necessary measures."
- Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, acknowledged the possibility of all potential causes for the unprecedented power outage, assuring that investigations were underway to determine the exact cause.
- In the aftermath of the massive blackout, some speculation and misinformation emerged, leading Sánchez to assure the public that the EU Council President António Costa of Portugal found no evidence of a cyber attack.
- Portions of Spain, Morocco, and Portugal experienced disruptions following the blackout, affecting major urban centers like Madrid and Barcelona, where traffic lights stuttered, causing traffic congestion, and long lines formed at ATMs.
- Despite the successful restoration of power for most households in Portugal, approximately 11 trains in Spain are yet to be reconnected to the power supply, stranding passengers overnight.
