Massive Power Outage Hits Spain, Portugal, Causing Widespread Disruption

On Monday, a massive power outage struck parts of Spain and Portugal, causing widespread disruption to transportation, flights, and trapping people in elevators. Power operators are urgently working to restore electricity to millions of households and businesses.

Some hospitals suspended regular operations, and both governments held emergency cabinet meetings. Officials initially did not rule out the possibility of a cyber attack. Such a large-scale power outage is extremely rare in Europe, and the cause remains unclear.

According to witnesses, power in the Basque region and Barcelona in Spain began to be restored in the early afternoon a few hours after the outage. It is still unclear when a wider restoration of power will be achieved.

Hospitals in Madrid and Catalonia in Spain suspended all routine medical services but continued to treat critically ill patients using backup generators. Several refineries in Spain shut down, and retail businesses also closed.

The Bank of Spain stated that electronic banking was running "normally" on backup systems, but residents reported that ATM screens had gone blank.

In Portugal, the water supply company EPAL stated that water supply could also be disrupted. People queued outside shops to buy emergency supplies such as gas lamps, generators, and batteries.

The main power company in Portugal, EDP, informed customers that it was not yet clear when power would be restored. EDP warned that this could take several hours.

Parts of France also experienced brief power outages. The French grid operator RTE stated that measures had been taken to supplement power to parts of northern Spain following the outage.

The Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, with the 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and his British opponent Jacob Fearnley forced to halt their match due to the scoreboard going black and the overhead camera losing power.

Madrid's local radio station reported that some metro lines in Madrid were being evacuated. Due to the failure of traffic lights, traffic congestion occurred in the center of Madrid.

Madrid's local radio station reported that some people were trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators.

Portuguese police stated that traffic lights across the country were affected, and the metro in Lisbon and Porto was closed, with trains also stopping operation.

The Lisbon Metro Transport Operator Metropolitano de Lisboa stated that the metro had stopped running, with passengers still in the carriages.

A spokesperson for the Portuguese airline TAP Air stated that Lisbon Airport was operating on backup generators, while the Spanish Airports and Air Navigation Authority (AENA), which manages 46 airports in Spain, reported flight delays across the country.