A rare weather event has caused widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal, disrupting daily life.
Massive Disruption
The outage affected major cities, including Madrid and Lisbon, bringing public transport to a standstill.
Flights were delayed, and internet and phone networks were impacted.
REN, Portugal’s energy grid operator, said extreme temperature fluctuations caused high-voltage power lines to swing abnormally, leading to simultaneous failures across the grid.
This triggered a cascade of disruptions throughout the European network.
Causes and Consequences
Red Eléctrica, Spain’s national grid operator, is investigating the cause, but hasn’t confirmed if it’s the same as Portugal’s.
Eduardo Prieto, Red Eléctrica’s CEO, said restoring power could take 6-10 hours, while REN estimates it may take around a week.
Some areas in France and Andorra were also affected, but French grid operator RTE said it has restored normal operations.
Antonio Costa, European Commission President, said there’s no evidence the outage was caused by a cyberattack.
Response and Recovery
People flocked to bus stations as subway services halted.
Madrid’s mayor urged residents to avoid travel unless necessary.
Airlines warned passengers not to head to airports until further notice.
Power is slowly being restored in some areas, but the outage has caused significant disruption to daily life.
- Power outages affected Spain and Portugal
- Rare weather event caused high-voltage power lines to swing abnormally
- Disruptions to public transport, flights, internet, and phone networks
- Restoration efforts underway, with estimated times varying from 6 hours to a week
Source: BBC