Spain, along with parts of Portugal and France, experienced a widespread power blackout on Monday due to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon,” according to Portugal’s grid operator, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN).
Power cuts have caused chaos across Spain and Portugal with as many as 50 million people left without electricity – causing huge disruption to transport links and vital telecommunications networks.
The blackouts, which have plunged up to 50 million people into darkness across Spain and Portugal, are being attributed to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon.” The widespread outages have caused major problems for public transportation, airport operations, and vital communication systems — with officials warning that it might take up to a week for full services to be restored.
Madrid’s Barajas Airport experienced significant delays, metro operations came to a standstill, and traffic lights across the city stopped working after the power abruptly failed around midday. Similar scenes of disruption were reported across Spain and in neighbouring Portugal.
In Lisbon, the metro network was forced to shut down, and widespread failures of broadband, 5G, and regular phone services were reported throughout both nations. According to Red Eléctrica de España, the Spanish electricity operator, the outage has affected the entire Iberian Peninsula, and they have cautioned that it could take up to 10 hours to completely restore power in the impacted regions.
Spain’s national cyber-security agency, INCIBE, is investigating whether a cyber-attack may have been responsible for the massive blackouts. Meanwhile, Portugal’s grid operator, REN, attributed the cause to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon,” explaining that drastic temperature changes led to “anomalous oscillations” in high-voltage transmission lines.
Portugal’s grid operator, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), confirmed that an abnormal event in Spain’s power system, linked to this “rare atmospheric phenomenon,” triggered Portugal’s blackout. Officials explained that the unusual temperature variations created “anomalous oscillations” in the very high-voltage power network.
Authorities described the incident as an “induced atmospheric variation,” which caused fluctuations and failures in power system synchronization across multiple countries. REN has warned that the European grid may take up to a full week to return to stable operation.
Spain’s national railway operator, Renfe, reported that at 12.30 local time (11.30 BST), the country’s “entire National Electricity Grid was cut off,” leading to an abrupt halt in train services and the suspension of all departures from stations. Some areas of southern France were also impacted by the power disruptions.
Major cities were thrown into traffic chaos as traffic lights stopped working, with Madrid’s drivers being urged to avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary. “Avoid moving as much as possible and be very careful on the road,” Spain’s national traffic authority advised.
Airports in both Spain and Portugal faced operational challenges due to the blackouts, although most had backup generators to keep essential systems running. Spanish air traffic is currently functioning at “half capacity,” primarily affecting the use of boarding bridges. Flight delays of up to an hour were reported at airports including Barcelona’s El Prat and Madrid’s main airport.
On Spain’s railway network, some passengers found themselves stuck in tunnels and had to be evacuated on foot. In a 12:40 pm update, Red Eléctrica announced that power was gradually being restored in northern and southern regions of Spain, with ongoing efforts to “gradually” bring the supply back to normal.
The outages also hit banking and retail sectors, disrupting cash machines and card payments, particularly affecting cafes, restaurants, and shops during the busy lunchtime hours. Data from Spain’s electricity network showed a sharp fall in demand around 12:15 pm, plummeting from 27,500MW to nearly 15,000MW.
Portuguese authorities stated that their blackouts appeared to originate from issues in Spain, and teams are actively working on power restoration.
Meanwhile, Gibraltar, the British overseas territory, remained unaffected by the incident and is considered the only area on the Iberian Peninsula not impacted. Authorities there are “closely monitoring the situation.” The Canary Islands, located about 850 miles southwest of mainland Spain, also reportedly did not experience any disruption.