Massive power outage in Spain, France, Portugal

Highlights

A massive power outage was on Monday reported in Spain, France and Portugal, including their capitals. Spanish generator RedElectrica said the Iberian...

A massive power outage was on Monday reported in Spain, France and Portugal, including their capitals. Spanish generator RedElectrica said the Iberian peninsula was affected and added that the incident is being assessed and responded to.

The countries have a combined population of more than 50 million people. It is not immediately clear how many people are affected. However, the blackout disrupted critical infrastructure, local media reported.

Among the major cities that have been affected were industrial hubs like Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Seville and Porto. Local media further reported that the services and train stations and airports were also severely impacted due to the outage.

Spanish radio stations stated that part of the Madrid underground was being evacuated and there were traffic jams at Madrid city centre as traffic lights stopped working, Cader Ser Radio station reported.

In the wake of these developments, the Spanish and Portuguese governments held emergency cabinet meetings to take stock of the situation.

Portugal's utility REN confirmed power outage across the Iberian Peninsula that also affected part of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power.

Official sources in Portugal told domestic media that the outage was nationwide, while similar reports have emerged from Spain. Barajas international airport in Madrid was left without power while telecommunications have also been impacted. Other airports in the region have also come ot a standstill.

Several passengers have been left stranded in the metros in the capitals of Spain and Portugal, with trains stuck in the tunnels between stations, Euronews Portugal reported.

The Spanish government has gathered for an emergency session at Moncloa and is monitoring the situation, Euronews Spain reported. Citizens of Andorra and areas of France bordering Spain were reporting being hit by the blackout. According to the latest information, outages have been reported as far as Belgium.

Cause not clear yet

The cause of the power outage is not clear yet. Domestic media have reported issues with the European electric grid, which impacted national grids in the Iberian Peninsula, Euro News reported. However, a fire in the south-west of France, on the Alaric mountain, which damaged a high-voltage power line between Perpignan and eastern Narbonne, is also considered a possible cause for the outage.