Over the course of nearly 18 hours, electricity was restored to nearly all of Spain and significant regions of Portugal impacted by a widespread blackout, with authorities still investigating the cause.
Spain and Portugal Rebound from Major Blackout After 18 Hours of Darkness
Spain and Portugal Rebound from Major Blackout After 18 Hours of Darkness
Power is restored across Spain and much of Portugal after an extensive blackout leaves millions affected.
Spain's national electricity company, Red Eléctrica, reported early Tuesday that power was restored across nearly the entire country, concluding a massive blackout that disrupted vital services such as airports, train stations, and traffic management systems. By 6 a.m. local time, operations returned to normal for 99 percent of power demand in Peninsular Spain, which covers the majority of the Iberian Peninsula.
The blackout began on Monday, affecting not only Spain but also neighboring Portugal, where power utility REN announced it had restored service to 85 of the 89 substations powering the Portuguese grid, though some areas remained without power. The exact cause of the outage was not immediately clear; however, officials ruled out potential cyberattack involvement, suggesting the disruption was likely due to other technical issues.
In a city like Madrid, many travelers found themselves stranded at key transport hubs including Atocha train station, creating a challenging situation for those relying on public transportation and other services during the outage. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the unexpected blackout while the impacted populations await further updates on the situation.
This developing story highlights the critical nature of energy infrastructure and the extraordinary effects such outages can have on millions of lives across interconnected regions.
