Iberian Peninsula Hit By Massive Blackout And Left In The Dark
By Bárbara Machado
(EurActiv) — Spain and Portugal were hit today by a widespread blackout, leaving millions without electricity. Portugal’s energy operator pointed to an issue in the European grid, although a possible cyberattack has not been ruled out.
The blackout had impacted several regions in Portugal and Spain since midday, triggering chaos at airports, railways, metro stations, and road traffic, as traffic lights stopped working. As a consequence, both countries have seen a rush on supermarkets, Euractiv learned.
E-Redes, Portugal’s main distribution operator, attributed the issue to a problem within the broader European electricity grid, which affected the national grid, Expresso reported.
As a result, power cuts were carried out in specific areas to ensure the stability of the network, but service was already being restored gradually by early afternoon.
Simultaneously, Spain experienced extensive outages across its autonomous communities, prompting investigations by the Spanish government.
“So far, no signs of a cyberattack have been identified.” Pedro Mendonça from the Portuguese National Cybersecurity Centre told Euractiv.
The possibility of a cyberattack is also being examined by Spain’s National Cybersecurity Institute, El Pais reports.
“The Iberian network was automatically disconnected from the European grid from 12.38pm to 1.30pm, at which time the 400 kV power line between French and Spanish Catalonia was brought back into service,” France’s RTE stated.
France was also hit, although less severely. The southwest of the country experienced disruptions, but electricity has already been restored, RTE told Euractiv.
“We are beginning to recover voltage in the north and south of the peninsula, which is key to progressively meeting the electricity supply,” Red Elétrica, Spanish power grid operator posted on X.
The European Commission has been in contact with both countries as it seeks to understand the underlying cause of the power outage and the impact of the situation, a Commission spokesperson said, adding EU protocols had been activated to restore the system.
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