Power in Spain and Portugal has been mostly restored after a mass blackout paralysed most of the Iberian Peninsula.
Just over 82 per cent of Spain’s power is back, REE, the country’s electricity operator said early on Tuesday, and around 80 per cent of customers in Portugal are reported to have electricity.
Spain has declared a state of emergency in what is believed to be Europe’s largest power cut.
The cause of the initial fault in the region’s electricity grid is still being investigated, and the EU has insisted that there were no indications that it was a cyberattack.
However, a heavy reliance on solar and wind energy is believed to have made the region’s power grids more vulnerable to an outage of this scale.
Portuguese grid operator REN said one possible cause for the blackout may be a “very large oscillation in the electrical voltages” that started in Spain’s grid and spread to Portugal’s system.
Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, said the government would work “all night long” to restore power to the nation.
In an address to citizens, Mr Sanchez said “all state resources are being mobilised to restore normal supply as quickly as possible”.
He added: “We’ll be working flat out, all night long. With professionalism and commitment. As Spain always does in these situations.”
People wait with their luggage outside the Atocha train station in Madrid – Reuters
The unprecedented outages across Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France affected the daily lives of millions, grounding flights, halting trains and leaving whole cities without electricity or telecommunications.
Hospitals were forced to switch to emergency power generators and long delays at airports were recorded.
Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado were closed after being left without power, while emergency generators were activated in Barcelona.
Travellers queue for customer service at Barajas Airport in Madrid – Getty Images
Lisbon’s airport has since reopened, but the airport’s management company is advising customers to contact their airline before going there.
When the lights went out, modern life ground to a halt for millions of people.
In Madrid and Barcelona, people staggered into the streets holding their smartphones up, trying in vain to connect to a network.
People desperate for information queued for battery-operated radios to get news about the power cut.
“We are back to old-school methods,” Iain Tozer, who lives in Barcelona, said.
The Madrid Open tennis competition was abandoned. Jacob Fearnley, the British tennis player, was forced to leave the clay court after scoreboards and a camera above the court were affected by the outage.
With long lines snaking outside supermarkets, ATM machines and petrol stations, people were not even certain if they would be able to pay with card or cash only.
Shelves were stripped bare on the Iberian peninsula, amid fears the power cut could presage a food shortage.
A woman uses her mobile phone torch inside a store in Madrid – Shutterstock
Even getting to the shops was a challenge. The government had urged drivers to stay off the roads after traffic lights stopped working.
Police were conducting traffic at some major junctions because the lights had stopped working, and many roads were gridlocked.
On one major junction, staff from the local padel tennis equipment store were using stop signs to help manage the flow of vehicles.
Trains and metros were stopped because of the outage.
The president of Renfe, Spain’s railway network, said 114 rescues of trains have been completed, involving more than 35,000 people, and many of the trains were being towed. As of late Monday, three trains had not yet been evacuated.
Dark metro corridors in Barcelona – Anadolu
Footage from Madrid showed passengers walking through dark corridors of the city’s metro, and in Bilbao, people on a funicular were forced to walk along rail tracks.
As night fell, more than 30 train stations across Spain opened overnight for stranded travellers to have a place to sleep.
Adif, Spain’s railway management company, shared images of passengers sleeping on cots, seats and floors in stations across the country.
It is unclear if service will return to normal on Tuesday.
But for people who were desperate to travel, the halting of trains and metros left them with little choice but to wait for hours in queues for a bus.
Passengers told El Pais that some queues snaked around for several blocks, and that buses were passing without stopping because they were already too full.
People queue for buses in Madrid – Anadolu
Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the conservative mayor of Madrid, said he expected Tuesday to be a “difficult day” for travel in the city, but announced that buses would be free of charge and operating normally.
The president of Madrid’s regional government had earlier requested that the army be deployed to the region to maintain order, but the request has so far not been answered.
Mr Sanchez promised to restore power nationwide “soon” with help from Morocco and France.
In Portugal, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said that power would be fully restored later in the night. He said all the state services remained operating in the country despite the difficulties.
01:35 AM BST
That’s it for today
Thanks for following our live coverage. We’ll be back tomorrow with more as Spain and Portugal gradually regain power after the massive outage on Monday.
01:26 AM BST
Power mostly back in Portugal
Around 80 per cent of Portuguese people have power, the country’s prime minister Luis Montenegro said.
As of midnight local time, 424 substations supplying 6.2 million customers are partially connected, Lusa news agency reported.
The website of E-Redes, Portugal’s electricity distributor, automatically directs to a post that says: “We know that there is no electricity. This is an Iberian problem. The power supply is being restored gradually and we are now in a more accelerated phase of restoring the network.”
01:08 AM BST
Three quarters of Spain’s power restored
More than three quarters of Spain’s power has been restored, REE, the country’s electricity operator, said.
As of 2:00am local time, 77.7 per cent of demand has been recovered and 96 per cent of substations are operational, REE said.
12:57 AM BST
Train stations ‘back to normal’ and accommodating stranded travellers
Service at train stations across Spain is “back to normal”, and more than 30 stations are open to passengers with nowhere to go, Adif, Spain’s railway management body, said.
Trains were suspended today and it is unclear if travel will return to normal tomorrow.
The stations are also able to accommodate more people “if necessary”, Adif said.
Adif also shared images of passengers sleeping on cots, seats and floors in stations across the country.
12:27 AM BST
Pictured: Long queues for buses across Spain
With metros and trains out of service, desperate travellers across Spain had one choice: waiting for hours in queues for a bus.
Passengers told El Pais that some queues snaked around for several blocks, and that buses were passing without stopping because they were already too full.
Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the conservative mayor of Madrid, said he expected Tuesday to be a “difficult day” for travel in the city, but announced that buses would be free of charge and operating normally.
A crowd tries to board a bus outside Atocha train station in Madrid – Thomas Coex/AFP
Police officers stand guard near a queue in Cibeles Square in Madrid – Susana Vera/Reuters
People queue for buses outside Atocha train station in Madrid – Pablo Blazquez-Dominguez/Getty Images Europe
11:56 PM BST
Stranded passengers can sleep at train stations, minister says
Train stations across Spain will open overnight to stranded passengers, Oscar Puente, the country’s transport minister, said.
At least 15 stations, including in Madrid, Seville and Malaga, will accommodate people who need to take a train and have nowhere else to go, Mr Puente said.
“The goal is to make it easier for people who need to take a train and have no other option to stay overnight,” he said in a post on X.
The UME, a branch of the Spanish military which provides disaster relief, has provided blankets to people staying in Atocha station, in southeast Madrid, Mr Puente said.
11:45 PM BST
Three trains still stranded in Spain
Passengers on three trains are still waiting to be rescued, the president of Renfe, Spain’s state railway company said.
Alvaro F Heredia said 114 rescues of trains have been completed today, involving more than 35,000 people.
“The first priority has been to rescue and evacuate all trains carrying passengers,” Mr Heredia said.
“Three trains remain to be rescued in collaboration with state security forces. Trains are now being recovered, the tracks are being cleared and the service is being organised.”
Renfe said in a post on X that train service is gradually being restored and that all passengers affected by the “exceptional situation” are guaranteed travel to their final destination.
11:28 PM BST
Pedro Sanchez meets with electricity bosses
Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, was pictured meeting with the bosses of REE, the country’s electricity operator, as power is gradually restored from a nationwide blackout.
11:26 PM BST
Pedro Sanchez: We will work all night to restore power
Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, said the government would work “all night long” to restore power to the nation.
In an address to citizens, Mr Sanchez said “all state resources are being mobilised to restore normal supply as quickly as possible”.
He added: “We’ll be working flat out, all night long. With professionalism and commitment. As Spain always does in these situations.”
11:16 PM BST
Over 60 per cent of power in Spain restored
More than 60 per cent of power has been restored, Spain’s electricity operator says, as recovery efforts continue into the night.
As of midnight local time, 61.35 per cent of the demand “has now been recovered”, REE said, and 78 per cent of substations are “energised”.
11:09 PM BST
Lisbon airport reopens
Lisbon’s airport has now reopened to passengers, Portugal’s Lusa news agency reported.
However, the airport’s management company ANA is recommending that people contact their airlines for information about their flights before going there.
The airport was in chaos earlier today, with mass disruption to flights and drivers forced to abandon their cars to walk to the building. Police were deployed to control entrances to the airport, where hundreds of people were stranded with baggage in tow.
10:49 PM BST
Some Spaniards were prepared after floods
One Spanish man said today’s power outage was “nothing” compared to the floods which battered the country last year.
Manuel Algaba, 54, who lives in the Valencian municipality of Paiporta, told the Spanish daily El Pais that the blackout was “nothing compared to what we had to live through”.
Power was restored at around 8:30pm local time to most of Paiporta, which was among the towns hardest hit by the floods and saw dozens of people lose their lives, El Pais reported.
“There’s water and no mud in the streets,” Mr Algaba added.
Another resident, Miquel Lopez, said: “People are prepared for this. They still keep candles, canned goods and even battery-powered radios at home.”
10:24 PM BST
Majority of Spain’s power recovered
Over half of Spain’s power has been restored, Spain’s electricity operator says.
As of 11:00pm local time, 51 per cent of the demand “has now been recovered”, REE said, and 70 per cent of substations are “energised”.
Recovery is gradually expanding as the country races to get back in operation.
10:13 PM BST
Almost half of Spain’s power restored
Around half of Spain’s power has been restored, Spain’s electricity operator said.
48.2 per cent of demand has been recovered and 66 per cent of the grid’s substations are running as of 10:30pm local time.
09:41 PM BST
Portugal’s power to return in ‘coming hours’
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro says that power in the country will be fully restored in the coming hours.
He said all the state services remained operating in the country despite all the difficulties
09:06 PM BST
Pictured: Darkness falls as day turns to night
The Madrid Town Hall at Cibeles Square is seen partially lit as power begins to return – REUTERS
Customers dine in a restaurant illuminated by a generator in Barcelona, – AP
08:56 PM BST
‘Third of Spain’s power restored’
More than 35 percent of Spain’s power capacity has now been restored, the country’s REE electricity operator has said.
REE is meeting “35.1 percent of demand”, Eduardo Prieto, REE’s operations director, told Cadena Ser radio.
The company said earlier that power was being “progressively” restored across the country.
08:51 PM BST
Power restored for some in Portugal
Portugal’s electricity provider REN said Monday evening it had restored power to some 750,000 of its 6.5 million consumers.
Supply stations for the largest city Porto in the country’s north were back in operation and the situation was expected to normalise “shortly”, an REN spokesperson told AFP.
The electric power supply has also been restored in parts of central Lisbon, according to Reuters.
08:28 PM BST
Thousands of police deployed
The Spanish Interior Ministry has said it is deploying 30,000 police officers as the blackout continues into the late evening.
They are being sent nationwide to maintain security, it added.
08:14 PM BST
Flight disruption continues in Spain and Portugal
Disruption to air travel continues in the Iberian Peninsula following the widespread power outages.
Portugal’s airport operator ANA said on Monday it did not expect flights to be able to take off from Lisbon until 10 p.m. local time. It said in a statement that operations continued at both Porto and Faro airports but with limitations.
IAG’s Spanish airline Iberia said it had cancelled 23 of the 247 flights that were scheduled on Monday. The airline said that given the difficulties to reach airports, it will offer all its passengers the possibility to reschedule their trip to their best convenience.
07:56 PM BST
Internet flooded with comparisons to Netflix’s ‘Zero Day’
Plunged into darkness and trapped on an underground train, Spanish commuters who had watched Netflix’s ‘Zero Day’ may have felt an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu.
The six-part drama series about America being brought to a standstill after digital terrorists launch a crippling cyber attack had aired only 10 weeks before Spain suffered its own nationwide power outage.
Five seconds into the series’ promotional trailer, a train screeches violently to a halt, throwing its terrified passengers across the carriage.
When real-life footage emerged of commuters in Barcelona abandoning their trains and gingerly making their way along railway tracks, their path illuminated solely by their phone torches, it did not take long for comparisons to start being made.
Social media became flooded with users sharing videos, photographs, and news reports of the chaos unfurling across Spain and parts of Portugal and France with the caption ‘Zero Day’.
Although Spanish Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of foul play, a technical fault or the weather is being posited as the more likely culprit.
07:45 PM BST
20pc of Spain’s electricity restored, says operator
More than 20 per cent of Spain’s power capacity has been restored, the country’s REE electricity operator said late Monday as it battled to overcome a major outage.
REE said “more than one fifth of the peninsula’s demand” had been reconnected with some from domestic power plants and some imported from France.
Supply was being “progressively” restored across Spain, it added on X.
Power is back on in various parts of Madrid.
People gather outside Barcelona-Sants train station amid the ongoing blackout – REUTERS
07:21 PM BST
Ukraine offers energy assistance to Spain, Portugal and France
Ukraine is offering its assistance to Spain, Portugal, and France following the widespread blackouts.
Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister, said that Kyiv has already been in contact with the three countries to share its “extensive experience” with power outages due to Russia’s aerial bombardment of its energy grid.
He added that Ukraine is “awaiting lists of specific actions that can be taken” and emphasised that it would stay in “close contact” for further coordination.
07:11 PM BST
‘Large voltage oscillation’ may be behind blackout
Portuguese grid operator REN said that it did not rule out that a “large oscillation” in electrical voltages that started in Spain’s grid was behind the mass power outages.
It appears to be a clarification on an earlier statement that said the cuts were due to “extreme weather variations” caused by a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”.
Joao Conceicao, REN board member, told reporters late on Monday that one possible cause was “very large oscillation in the electrical voltages, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system”.
“If it were up to REN, the country would wake up tomorrow with electricity, but unfortunately it’s not just REN that counts,” he added.
He added that the operator still had “no information” a cyber attack was the cause.
06:34 PM BST
Energy recovery ‘especially complex’ in Portugal
Portugal’s grid operator REN said that restoring power to the country would be “particularly complex” compared to Spain.
Portugal relies only on its own resources, rather than contributions from France and Morocco like Spain, it said.
Spain and Portugal have a highly integrated energy grid that operates as an energy island and is linked to the rest of Europe through a small number of cross-border interconnections with France.
People sit outside a terminal at Lisbon Airport – REUTERS
06:21 PM BST
Nearly 300 people rescued from lifts in Madrid
Emergency services carried out 286 rescue operations on Monday to free people trapped inside elevators in Spain’s Madrid region during a nationwide blackout.
“What we are now dealing with more frequently are cases of people trapped in lifts. We have received 286 requests” for help, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the head of Madrid’s regional government, said during an interview with Antena 3.
The Spanish capital’s vast metro system – which moves some two million people daily – was evacuated “without incident”, she added.
06:09 PM BST
Watch: Metro passengers in Spain walk through darkness
Credit: X/@varuky_
06:04 PM BST
If you’re just joining us. Here is what we know so far:
-
A widespread power outage paralysed Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France this morning
-
It is believed to have been caused by “extreme weather” that led to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”
-
But the cause is still under investigation, according to Spain’s prime minister
-
Tens of millions of people are still affected across the Iberian Peninsula
-
Authorities were racing against time to restore power before sunset when solar power will be lost
-
In dozens of cities, airports closed, trains and metros stalled and traffic lights stopped working
-
Telecommunications crashed, while hospitals moved to back-up generators
-
Spain said power would be restored ‘soon’, while Portugal said it could take a week to return to normal
-
Portugal and the EU ruled out a cyber attack, despite Spain initially suspecting it was the cause
-
People are still trapped in lifts and trains
-
Panic buying of food and water has been reported at supermarkets across Spain and Portugal
-
Play was cancelled at the Madrid Open
05:50 PM BST
Pictured: Gridlock in Lisbon amid traffic light mayhem
Aerial view of Avenida das Forcas Armadas in Lisbon after a widespread power blackout – Osvaldo Silva / Alamy Live News
05:38 PM BST
Spanish PM: We will restore power nationwide ‘soon’
Spain is aiming to restore power nationwide “soon”, Spain’s prime minister said, after a massive blackout affecting the Iberian Peninsula brought the country to a halt.
Interconnections with neighbouring France and Morocco have already partially restored supply, while “combined cycles and hydroelectric plants throughout the country have also been reactivated, which should allow us to recover the supply across Spain soon,” Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a televised address
05:36 PM BST
People rush to stock up on food in Madrid
In a supermarket in Madrid, people were stocking up on water, eggs and milk and some shelves were already empty as long lines formed for the tills.
“I left work and the power suddenly went and people started buying,” Joanly Perez, a 33-year-old doctor in Madrid told Reuters. “People aren’t sure what might happen and are buying basic essentials, just in case.”
Oliver Ortiz, a 45-year-old butcher, said he too was buying tins of food “just in case”.
Many stores and taxis in Madrid were no longer accepting electronic payments, and some local shops were giving credit to frequent customers.
In Portugal, many supermarkets in the capital of Lisbon and the resort town of Vilamoura in the south had shut.
A person shops at a supermarket using the torch of a mobile phone in Tremp, Spain – Getty Images Europe
05:19 PM BST
Blackout cause unknown, insists Spanish PM
The cause of the mass power outages across Spain, Portugal and parts of France is still unknown, Spain’s prime minister said, as he called on people to behave amid the blackout.
After the Iberian Peninsula was paralysed by what could be Europe’s largest power cut, Pedro Sanchez insisted there was still no “conclusive information” on what was behind the sudden cuts.
He appealed to citizens to avoid travel, use mobile phones sparingly and “to cooperate with all authorities, to act with responsibility and civility” and promised power would be restored “soon”.
Portugal believes it could take up to a week to restore energy to normal levels.
Both countries have a highly integrated energy grid that operates as an energy island and is linked to the rest of Europe through a small number of cross-border interconnections with France.
05:03 PM BST
Watch: Huge traffic jams in Madrid
Madrid has been partially brought to a standstill amid the ongoing blackout.
Footage shows huge streams of cars stuck in traffic jams around the capital.
Traffic lights were impacted by the outages, causing chaos, while the absence of the metro and trains have forced many to travel by car instead.
Credit: X/@Luisllanovsk
04:55 PM BST
Spain’s inter-city train services ‘will not be restored today’
Spain’s transport minister said the country’s inter-city train services will not be restored today, as thousands of passengers were left stranded by the massive power outage.
“Today it is not expected that the circulation of medium and long-distance trains will be restored… We are working so that, once the electricity supply is restored, we can resume those services, which will no longer be possible today,” Oscar Puente wrote on X.
Mr Puente said local commuter services could be up and running within two hours of power being restored, but that it would take longer to ensure safety on medium and long-distance rail networks.
He said his goal was to have longer distance services working by tomorrow if power is restored today.
People try hitchhike to return home after the power outage in Madrid – Rodrigo Jimenez/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock
04:46 PM BST
Spanish government urged to declare national emergency
The blackout in Spain should be declared a national emergency, the president of Andalusia’s regional authority has demanded.
Juanma Moreno said: “We ask the government of Spain to declare a national emergency to strengthen coordination throughout the territory affected by the power outage.”
“PRUDENCE, please,” he added on X.
Earlier, the president of Madrid’s regional government called on the government to deploy the army to the capital to maintain order.
Restaurant staff in Seville make handwritten bills for customers during a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula – CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP
04:41 PM BST
Pictured: People in Madrid search for transport options
Police tell travellers that Atocha train station has been closed due to a power outage in Madrid – REUTERS
People walk in downtown Madrid to reach bus stations or walking back home as subway and trains are totally out of service – AFP
04:30 PM BST
Electricity flows again in parts of northern, southern and western Spain
Electricity has returned to parts of northern, southern and western Spain, the grid operator said on Monday, as a blackout sparked chaos for millions across the Iberian peninsula.
“Tension has now been restored in substations in several areas of the north, south and west of the peninsula, beginning to give supply to consumers in these areas,” Red Electrica said in a statement.
04:22 PM BST
Spaniards search for clarity among the chaos
The extent of the power cut that has hit Spain is not clear even among Spaniards who are searching for clarity amid the chaos.
Speaking to residents of the country, some believe only Spain is affected, while others seem to believe the whole of Europe is affected.
“I’ve heard that Spain, Portugal, France Italy and Germany are affected,” one concerned resident tells me. “I’m not quite sure what’s true.”
Another resident, Iain Tozer, in Barcelona, said he has reverted to using old-school radios to listen to the news.
“They were saying it’s all over Spain and Portugal and Italy, it’s still off here now. We are back to old school methods.”
04:16 PM BST
Spain’s nuclear plants in ‘safe’ shutdown mode
Spain’s nuclear power plants automatically stopped on Monday when a massive blackout hit, but diesel generators were keeping them in “safe condition”, officials said.
The shutdown of the country’s nuclear plants was “in line with their design” when confronted with an unexpected power outage, the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said in a statement.
04:11 PM BST
Hundreds of British flights potentially affected
Tens of thousands of British airline passengers could potentially be affected by airport disruption caused by the power outage.
More than 500 flights were scheduled to leave Britain today for airports in Portugal and Spain.
TAP Air, the Portuguese airline, said: “Due to the power cut in several European countries, the operation of airports is temporarily very limited. TAP requests that you do not go to the airport until further information.”
A total of 399 scheduled departures were from British airports to Spanish destinations, equating to 75,000 seats.
A further 105 were scheduled to fly to Portuguese airports, with just under 20,000 seats available, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
Most short-haul flights are around 80-90 per cent full, although the Easter holidays ended last week and airline sources expected the impact to be minimal.
A total of 3,005 flights – departures and arrivals – were scheduled for Spanish airports today, while there were set to be 709 departures from Portugal and 722 arrivals.
Lisbon Airport is closed to all arrivals until 4.30pm GMT, the Eurocontrol air traffic control agency said.
Madrid and Barcelona are both operating at reduced capacity until further notice, with Eurocontrol adding that at Barcelona the “situation is improving”.
04:09 PM BST
Portuguese PM: Blackout caused by issue in Spain
Luís Montenegro, Portugal’s prime minister, said that all the indicators suggest the cause of the major blackout originated in Spain.
Mr Montenegro said his cabinet is working with the Spanish government to understand the situation “better”, while the Portuguese intelligence services are investigating.
04:03 PM BST
Reports of ‘panic buying’ in supermarkets
There are widespread reports of panic buying across Spain and Portugal.
Photographs have shown empty shelves in supermarkets across the Iberian Peninsula amid fears the power outages could lead to a footage shortage.
Huge queues have been forming outside petrol stations and ATMs, while people are rushing to buy power banks and battery-operated radios.
Many homes across the region have also lost access to drinking water.
Empty shelves in a Portuguese supermarket posted by a shopper
Empty water pallets in a supermarket after a surge in purchases in Lisbon amid water shortages – Bloomberg
Long queues at a supermarket in Lisbon to buy food as the blackout across Portugal continues – Shutterstock
03:51 PM BST
EU chief says ‘at this point no indications’ of cyber attack
The European Union chief said that “at this point, there are no indications of any cyberattack” after a massive blackout hit Spain and Portugal.
“Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause, and on restoring the electricity supply,” Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council, wrote on X, after being in touch with leaders in Spain and Portugal.
03:46 PM BST
Reliance on solar power left Iberian grid ‘vulnerable’
The large amount of solar power on the Spanish and Portuguese grids may have left the Iberian power grid more vulnerable to faults or cyber attacks, according to one expert.
This is because of the need for “inertia” on the electricity system, which is a by-product of generators that have spinning parts – such as those running on gas, coal or hydropower.
These have turbines that can speed up or slow down to help adjust the power frequency, which must be kept within certain limits. Inertia also helps to protect the system from faults that cause sudden frequency drops, giving grid operators time to switch on alternative generators.
Solar panels do not generate inertia on the system, however, and there are known issues with low inertia on the Iberian grid.
At about 10am this morning, roughly two hours before the power cuts, almost 60 per cent of Spain’s power was being generated by solar farms, according to transparency data.
At lunchtime, demand for power tends to drop, meaning there is less demand for gas on the system in Spain, said Kathryn Porter, an independent energy analyst.
Ms Porter said: “If you have a grid fault, it can cause a frequency imbalance and in a low-inertia environment the frequency can change much faster.
“If you have had a significant grid fault in one area, or a cyber attack, or whatever it may be, the grid operators therefore have less time to react. That can lead to cascading failures if you cannot get it under control quickly enough.
“The growing reliance on solar has pushed inertia on the grid to the point where it does become more difficult to respond to disruptions such as significant transmission faults.”
However, she added, if the cyber attacks are the cause of blackouts on multiple parts of the grid, more inertia would not have helped.
03:45 PM BST
In pictures: Travel chaos across Spain
People leave the Atocha train station in Madrid after its closure as a massive power outage hits Spain – AFP
People get off a stopped high-speed AVE train near Cordoba – AFP
Entrance of metro is blocked after the services were shut down due to the cuts – Anadolu
Passengers wait outside Atocha train station in Madrid after all trains ground to a halt – AP
03:39 PM BST
Watch: Passengers forced to walk down railway tracks in Bilbao
Credit: X/@djobi71
03:25 PM BST
‘Extreme weather’ to blame for power cut chaos across Europe
Extreme weather was to blame for mass power outages that cut electricity to Spain, Portugal and part of France, network operators said.
Portugal’s grid operator REN said that “extreme temperature variations” had produced a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” that caused the cuts.
What is believed to be Europe’s largest ever power cut grounded flights, halted trains, left whole cities without electricity or the internet and millions without vital services.
The power networks in Spain were in a race against time on Monday afternoon to restore electricity before sunset when solar generation is likely to cut off a third of the country’s power source.
Spain’s energy operator Red Electrica, estimated it could take between six to ten hours to restore power in the country. REN in Portugal said it believes it could take up to a week for normal service to resume.
Red Electric earlier said it believed the cuts were caused by a “very strong oscillation in the electrical network” that led Spain’s power system to “disconnect from the European system, and the collapse of the Iberian electricity network at 12:38.”
Its statement followed concerns a cyber attack may have been behind the blackouts, but the European Union said there are no such indications at this point.
Customers queue outside a shop selling tech devices including power banks during a power outage in Madrid – Bloomberg
03:19 PM BST
Portugal says there is no evidence of cyber attack
Portuguese authorities have said they have no evidence of a cyber attack.
Spain’s El Pais newspaper interviewed one expert who said the blackout could be explained by other reasons.
Lukasz Olejnik, of King’s College London, said, “Coordinating such a large and synchronised attack would be extremely difficult.”
There is no ‘clear symptom’ that would allow us to say with certainty that such a blackout is due to a cyber attack. Everything we’ve seen so far could also be explained by normal, non-malicious causes. That’s why it’s important to investigate and avoid falling for rumours or misinformation.”
03:12 PM BST
Are you affected by the outages? Do you have photos?
Are you affected by the power outages across Spain, Portugal and France?
If you have any photographs, please send them – along with a caption – to this email: mypic@telegraph.co.uk
03:08 PM BST
Watch: Chaos inside Lisbon’s airport
Credit: Georgina Wray for The Telegraph
03:06 PM BST
Some power restored to north, south and west of Iberian peninsula
Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica said voltage has been restored to several substations in the north, south, and west of Iberian Peninsula.
The company earlier said it could take six to 10 hours to fully restore power across the region.
03:03 PM BST
Pictured: Police head to the streets of Madrid to maintain order
There is heavy police presence on the streets of Madrid to maintain order – Anadolu
02:48 PM BST
EU cyber security unit says technical or cable fault behind outages
The cyber security wing of the European Union has suggested a technical or cable fault is responsible for the mass power outage across Spain and parts of France and Portugal.
Preliminary findings from the The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) have veered away from a cyber security attack.
The ENISA said they are “closely monitoring” the situation and that they remain “in contact with the relevant authorities at national and EU level.”
In an emailed statement, a spokesman told The Telegraph: “For the moment the investigation seems to point to a technical/cable issue.”
In the past, hospitals, water suppliers and councils in Spain have previously fallen victim to ransomware and other malware attacks.
Aigües de Mataró, a water supplier in Mataró, a coastal town in Catalonia with a population of around 130,000, had its website and computer systems crippled in a cyber attack and suffered a major breach of customer’s sensitive data last week.
In January last year, hackers attempted to extort £8 million from the city council of Calvià, a municipality on the island of Majorca, following a ransomware attack on its offices.
Barcelona’s largest hospital was forced to cancel thousands of appointments when computers across their laboratories, clinics and emergency rooms were shut down in March 2023.
02:42 PM BST
The moment Spain’s energy plummeted
02:35 PM BST
Internet traffic plummets in Spain as millions knocked offline
Internet traffic in Spain plunged by more than a third this morning as millions of people were left without power.
Data from technology company Cloudflare revealed a 30 per cent drop in traffic from Portugal and a 37 per cent drop in internet use in Spain at just after 11.30 local time as people struggled to connect to the web.
02:23 PM BST
Restoring power could take 6-10 hours, says grid operator
Spanish power distributor Red Electrica said that restoring power to large parts of the country after a massive and unprecedented outage Monday that also hit Portugal could take 6-10 hours.
The company declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout.
The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyber attack.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Electrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event “exceptional and extraordinary.”
Customers buy gas bottles in a petrol station during a massive power cut in Seville – AFP
02:19 PM BST
European cyber security agency ‘monitoring’ blackouts
The European Union’s cyber security agency is “closely” monitoring the sudden blackouts in Spain, although a spokesman said it was too early to say whether or not a cyber attack was to blame.
A spokesman for ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cyber Security, told The Telegraph: “We are monitoring the whole thing very closely, right now the investigation is still ongoing and whether it is a cyber attack has not been confirmed yet.”
Spanish politicians have speculated the cause of the sudden blackout could be a cyber attack. Red Electrica, the country’s grid operator, said the causes of the blackouts were being “analysed”.
Cyber security experts said the blackouts were a stark reminder of the damage and disruption a cyber attack on a country’s grid would cause.
Jake Moore, a global cyber security adviser at Eset, said: “This situation brings to life the long feared worry of what an attack on a delicate national infrastructure system would look like.
“Nation state attacks are notoriously difficult to defend against and targeting critical infrastructure has always been one of the biggest threats to a country.”
02:14 PM BST
Dispatch from Lisbon: A city plunged into darkness
Lisbon was plunged into a sweltering darkness at lunchtime on Monday when the power suddenly cut out.
Restaurant workers stepped into the bright streets looking bewildered, while gloomy shops quickly switched to taking cash.
By the second hour of the blackout, local grocery stores in Carcavelos, a suburb of Lisbon, had queues snaking throughout as people tried to stock their cupboards, not knowing how long the blackout could last.
Concerned shoppers waited in a sweaty line with their arms full of fruit, pasta and beans, buzzing with gossip about what had caused the power cut and how far it had spread. A florist said she heard it went as far as Italy and France.
WhatsApp lagged under the pressure, with notifications slowly coming through from up and down the country, with power cuts from Porto to Lagos.
Then the messaging service and phone lines stopped working altogether.
The skies and rails were quiet, with drivers continuing to move tentatively along roads without traffic lights.
A man with a torch leads the way as a subway station lies in darkness during a power outage in Lisbon – Getty Images Europe
02:07 PM BST
One of Europe’s largest ever blackouts
Today’s massive blackouts across Spain and parts of Portugal and France could be Europe’s biggest ever power cut.
The continent’s biggest outage to date was in 2003, when 56 million people in Italy and parts of Switzerland were left without electricity for up to 12 hours.
With the whole of Spain reportedly without power, as well as swathes of southern France and Portugal, today’s cuts could surpass the 2003 incident in terms of the number of people affected.
The largest power cut in history was in India in 2012 when 700 million people, roughly 10 per cent of the world’s population at the time, were left without electricity.
02:04 PM BST
Pictured: Reporter attempts to work at Madrid Open
A reporter tries to work at press room during Madrid Open tennis tournament amid the blackout – Shutterstock
02:01 PM BST
Madrid’s president asks for the army to be deployed
The president of Madrid’s regional government has asked the Spanish prime minister to take steps so the army can maintain order, if necessary.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso wants Pedro Sánchez to activate the Level 3 emergency plan, the highest, so soldiers can be deployed.
“We ask the national government to activate Plan 3 so that the Army can maintain order if necessary.”
02:01 PM BST
Andorra and Belgium also hit by outages, say reports
Residents of Andorra said they have been hit by the large-scale power blackouts, while outages have been reported as far as Belgium, according to the latest information.
01:57 PM BST
Watch: Passengers forced to walk to Lisbon airport
Credit: Georgina Wray for The Telegraph
01:53 PM BST
‘No traffic lights, no trains, no subways’: Spaniards react to blackouts
Kathy Diaz Romero, based in a small town in Catalonia, said residents had not been told what was happening.
“There’s no traffic lights, no trains, no subways. They still haven’t said anything about why it happened,” she told The Telegraph from Sant Celonj.
“It’s coming back on slowly in my town, but there’s still lots of places without power at all.”
Trevor Court, who lives in Lloret de Mar, near Barcelona, told the Telegraph: “My power went off at 12.30pm. At first, I thought it was a sub-station, but friends in Barcelona and Zaragoza messaged to say they had no electricity.
“Most places are electric. So now they have no way to cook, have a hot drink or charge their phone, or buy food as some supermarkets and shops have closed, or get petrol as pumps are out, or charge EVs.”
Huge traffic jams hit Madrid after traffic lights stopped working – Oscar del Pozo/AFP
01:49 PM BST
EU in contact with Spain, Portugal to understand cause of blackout
The European Commission said on Monday it was “in contact” with Spanish and Portuguese authorities “to understand the underlying cause” of the huge blackouts.
“The commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange amongst all relevant parties,” said a spokesman.
01:46 PM BST
In pictures: People dine in the dark at Madrid Open
Food stalls have been operated using torches and cash
Fans wait at the Madrid Open after the suspension of all matches – Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
01:44 PM BST
Cyber attack ‘most likely’ cause of blackouts, says Spanish official
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian regional government, said a cyber attack is the most likely cause of the disruption to the peninsula’s electricity system.
Mr Moreno, speaking to reporters, claimed everything points to a cyber attack, according to information provided by the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center.
Spain’s ministry of defence has not confirmed if they are treating the outage as a possible cyber attack from a malign actor.
Mr Moreno said he had reached his conclusion “solely based on our own data.”
He added that hospitals could operate normally because they have power generators. “We’ll see how long this will last because the generators only have a 24-hour capacity.”
01:40 PM BST
Pictured: Inside Lisbon’s metro amid power cuts
Travellers on Lisbon’s metro system attempt to use their phones as torches after nationwide power cuts
01:37 PM BST
Flights to Madrid and Lisbon disrupted
Airport disruption is set to hit flights to the capitals of both Spain and Portugal as a result of the power failure.
Lisbon airport is not accepting any arrivals until 3.30pm GMT, according to EU air traffic control agency Eurocontrol.
Similarly, Barcelona and Madrid are both unable to handle their normal volumes of flights today thanks to the electrical failure.
Spain’s air traffic control agency said its ability to process flight plans had been halted by the power outage. Flight plans are used by pilots and controllers alike to safely sequence aeroplanes in and out of airports.
The Spanish have also stopped publishing new notices to airmen (NOTAMs) – bulletins containing information for pilots – unless they are of an “urgent and critical nature”.
01:35 PM BST
Pictured: People in Barcelona listen to the radio for news updates
A bar owner holds up an analogue radio transmitting news about a nationwide power outage in Barcelona – Getty Images Europe
01:33 PM BST
British star Jacob Fearnley match suspended at Madrid Open
British star Jacob Fearnley was one of several players told to get off the court at the Madrid Open due to a nationwide blackout across the country.
The 23-year-old was playing against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov when their match was suspended around midday.
Thousands of fans were left in the dark as the venue lost power.
Organisers said they were working to “restore normality as soon as possible.”
01:27 PM BST
Spain investigating possible cyber attack
Spain’s INCIBE cybersecurity agency is investigating the possibility of the blackout being triggered by a cyber attack.
The country’s government also added it is working to “identify the origin” of the blackouts.
01:13 PM BST
Pictured: Traffic lights stop working in Lisbon
Traffic lights stopped working following a power outage in downtown Lisbon – AP
01:11 PM BST
Power operators begin recovery in Spain
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said it is beginning to recover power in the north and south of the country.
It said this is “key to gradually restoring the electricity supply”.
“We continue working to restore power,” it added in an update.
01:10 PM BST
Blackouts ‘caused by problem with Spain’s transportation network’
António Leitão Amaro, Portugal’s presidency minister, said that the large-scale blackouts appear to have been caused by “a problem in Spain’s transportation network”.
“The exact details of which have yet to be identified,” he told the Lusa news agency.
01:05 PM BST
All trains stopped across Spain
Spain’s railway operator, Renfe, confirmed that the “entire National Electricity Grid was cut off”.
It said that all trains had stopped working and there were no departures from stations.
01:02 PM BST
Pictured: Chaos at Madrid Open
Play has been suspended at Madrid Open
12:56 PM BST
Problem with ‘European electricity system’
Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to “a problem with the European electricity system”.
The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilise the network.
It was not possible to make calls on mobile phone networks, though some apps were working.
12:55 PM BST
‘Cyber attack has not been ruled out’, says Spanish official
“A crisis committee has been set up to manage the situation [in Spain]. At this stage there’s no evidence yet regarding the cause of the massive blackout,” an official briefed on the situation in Spain told Politico.
“A cyberattack has not been ruled out and investigations are ongoing,” they added.
12:54 PM BST
Power abruptly cut at 12.30pm in Spain
Airports, train and metro stations ground to a halt, while traffic lights across cities stopped working in Spain when the flow of power was abruptly cut at 12.30pm local time (11.30am BST).
Spanish media report that millions have been affected, but official numbers have not yet been released.
It is not yet clear what caused the large-scale outages.
12:49 PM BST
Hello and welcome to our live coverage
We’re bringing you all the latest news from the huge power outages across Spain and Portugal.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
