MADRID — A sweeping power outage struck Spain, Portugal, and portions of southern France on Monday, leaving millions without electricity and paralyzing critical infrastructure across the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. The blackout, reported as nationwide in Spain and Portugal, began late morning local time and has also affected Andorra and areas as far north as Belgium.
The outage brought chaos to major cities. Madrid’s Barajas International Airport lost power, grounding flights and stranding thousands. Metro systems in Madrid and Lisbon halted, trapping passengers in tunnels. Hospitals, including Madrid’s La Paz and several Portuguese facilities, switched to backup generators. Mobile networks collapsed, severing communication for residents.
Spanish authorities convened an emergency meeting at Moncloa to monitor the crisis, urging the public to reserve 112 calls for true emergencies. Portugal’s government issued similar guidance as emergency services scrambled to respond.
The cause remains under investigation. Spain’s energy giants, Endesa and Iberdrola, are probing the failure, while Portugal’s REN pointed to a possible trigger: a fire on Alaric Mountain in southwestern France that damaged a high-voltage line between Perpignan and eastern Narbonne. Some reports suggest broader issues with the European electric grid, which may have cascaded to national systems.
The outage’s ripple effects are significant. Businesses face disruptions, and flooded substations in rain-soaked regions of Spain and Portugal are complicating repairs. Unconfirmed social media reports hint at impacts in Morocco and Algeria via shared grid connections, though officials have yet to verify these claims.
The European Network of Transmission System Operators is working with national grids to restore power, but no timeline has been announced. Residents are advised to conserve battery power and follow local radio updates.
This story will be updated as new information emerges.
Comments are closed.