Power returns to half of Spain; travel disrupted, cause still unknown
Spain and Portugal were hit with a massive power outage on Monday, prompting the Interior Ministry to declare a state of emergency. The outage caused chaos across both countries, knocking out traffic lights, forcing the evacuation of subway systems, and disrupting various services.
The power outage was caused by extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, leading to induced atmospheric vibration in the high-voltage lines. This phenomenon caused synchronization failures between the electrical systems, resulting in disturbances across the interconnected European network. Both Spain and Portugal experienced a significant drop in power demand, with Spain seeing a drop from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000.
REN, Portugal’s grid operator, described the incident as a rare atmospheric phenomenon. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the outage. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez attributed the outage to a problem in the European grid, but the exact cause was still being investigated.
Efforts were underway to restore power fully to both countries, with Red Eléctrica estimating it could take 6-10 hours. By late evening, over 48% of the demand had been recovered in Spain, and 66% of the substation parks were energized. However, the situation was still dire, with Madrid metro stations being evacuated, trains stopped in Barcelona, and the Madrid Open tennis tournament suspended for the day.
In Portugal, Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, courts stopped work, and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected. Traffic lights in Lisbon also ceased to function. Both governments convened emergency cabinet meetings to address the situation, with residents reporting panic buying of essential supplies in supermarkets.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, described the event as unprecedented and exceptional. The gradual restoration of power was underway in various regions of the Iberian Peninsula, with some areas already seeing power being restored. Red Eléctrica assured the public that all resources were being dedicated to resolving the issue.
The power outage highlighted the vulnerability of the electrical grid and the importance of preparedness for such emergencies. As efforts continued to restore power fully, authorities urged the public to cooperate and act responsibly. The incident serves as a reminder of the need for robust infrastructure to prevent and mitigate such widespread disruptions in the future.
