On April 28, a major electricity outage affected large parts of Spain and Portugal, causing chaos in public transport and disrupting flights. Engineers worked urgently to restore power supply as traffic jams and delays plagued the affected areas.
Authorities initially remained uncertain about the cause of the outage, with investigations looking into the possibility of cyber attacks. In response, a crisis committee was formed in Spain to coordinate necessary actions.
Emergency meetings of the cabinet of ministers were held in both Spain and Portugal following the power outage. The aftermath also touched part of France on the northeastern border with Spain.
The Portuguese operator Ren confirmed the widespread electricity disruption across the entire Iberian Peninsula and some areas of France. Collaborating with regional energy companies, the Spanish Red Electrica worked to restore the power grid. Ren’s representative assured that a phased return of power supply was in progress with coordination from European energy operators.
The electricity problems extended to sporting events, with a match at the Madrid Open tennis tournament between Grigor Dimitrov and Jacob Fernley being interrupted due to power failure. Additionally, metro lines in Madrid came to a halt, causing traffic congestion and disruptions in the city.
Passengers were reportedly stranded in subways and elevators in both Spain and Portugal due to the outage. In Portugal, public transport systems including the Lisbon metro and trains were affected, while traffic lights across the country went dark.
At Lisbon Airport, backup power was activated, and flight delays were experienced throughout Spain as reported by the Spanish Aena. In France, the RTE operator faced a brief power outage but successfully restored electricity. Investigations into the causes of the incident are ongoing.