Massive Power Outage Hits Spain and Portugal

It was an exceptionally large-scale blackout. Numerous traffic lights went out, forcing drivers to slow down, while metros and trains came to a complete halt. Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) recommended that vehicles limit their movements.

Red Eléctrica, the Spanish electricity grid operator, stated on its X account that it had “activated plans to restore power supply in collaboration with companies in the sector,” adding that “the causes of the incident are being analyzed.”

RTE confirmed that a “major electrical incident” is currently affecting the Iberian Peninsula and that, to a lesser extent, some households in the French Basque Country were also temporarily affected before full power restoration.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said it was “in contact” with Spanish and Portuguese authorities to better understand the origin of the outage. It assured that it “will continue to monitor the situation closely” and will “facilitate the exchange of information between all concerned parties.”