An unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday, stranding thousands of train passengers and leaving millions of people without phone and internet coverage and access to cash from ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula.
The sudden crash of the power grid also left authorities searching for its cause. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed the nation and said that almost 11 hours after the nation ground to a halt, government experts were still trying to determine what happened.
“We have never had a complete collapse of the system,” Sánchez said, before detailing that at 12:33 p.m. on Monday Spain’s power grid lost 15 gigawatts, the equivalent of 60% of its national demand, in a matter of five seconds, reports AP from BARCELONA, Spain.
Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica’s head of operations Eduardo Prieto said the event was “exceptional and extraordinary.”
It was the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the U.K., and it came as authorities across Europe gird against sabotage backed by Russia.
The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center in a statement said there was no sign the outage was due to a cyber attack. Teresa Ribera, European Commission executive vice president in charge of promoting clean energy, indicated the same to journalists in Brussels and called the power outage “one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times.”
“We are analyzing all the potential causes without discarding any hypothesis,” Sánchez said.
After an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council, Sánchez said the army would distribute generators and other material to the hardest-hit areas on Tuesday.
The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime minister’s residence. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he had spoken several times to Sánchez and expected power to be restored by the end of the day.
Portugal’s government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa.
Electricity was being pulled from Morocco and France to restore power to southern and northern Spain, Spain’s prime minister said, thanking their governments. Spain was also increasing the production from hydroelectric and combined cycle thermal power plants.
Airports working on backup systems
A graph on Spain’s electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12:15 p.m. from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000 megawatts.
Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems and some flights were delayed, according to Aena, which runs 56 airports in Spain including Madrid and Barcelona.
In Lisbon, terminals closed and tourists sat outside waiting for news about flights.
Spanish and Portuguese capitals affected
“We haven’t seen any plane arriving or departing in the 50 minutes we’ve been waiting here,” Dutch tourist Marc Brandsma said.
The Spanish Parliament in Madrid closed. Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended.
Some took advantage of the lack of connectivity to enjoy the sunshine on restaurant terraces, parks and beaches. Barcelona’s streets filled with throngs of people milling in front of darkened stores and exchanging information.
“We are lucky. Some people got trapped in the metro. And there is a positive side: We are talking more with each other,” said Monste Cortés in Barcelona.
She said dinner would be sliced bread and cold cuts.
The hunt for connectivity
As hours passed, so did the concern of those unable to reach loved ones. “I can’t even call my boss because nothing works,” said Helen Osorio, a Barcelona shop clerk.
In Terrassa, an industrial town 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Barcelona, stores selling generators were out of stock.
Portugal’s National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said backup power systems were operating.
In Portugal, a country of some 10.6 million people, police placed more officers on duty to cope with increased requests for help, including from people trapped in elevators.
Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, reports said. Courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected.
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