MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mass power outage hits large parts of Europe

Spanish and Portuguese authorities are holding emergency meetings to solve the crisis.

A massive power outage struck the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and has also affected Spain, Portugal, and some regions in France, Italy, and the UK, disrupting critical infrastructure including public transport, airports, telecommunications, and traffic systems.

 The outage, described as unprecedented, affected major cities like Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Seville, with underground evacuations and flight delays reported. Spain’s grid operator, Red Eléctrica, and Portugal’s REN are working to restore power, with partial recovery in northern and southern Spain, but full restoration may take 6-10 hours.

The cause remains unclear, though a possible issue in the European electric grid, potentially linked to a fire-damaged power line in France, is under investigation.

”REN confirms a massive power outage throughout the Iberian peninsula, which also affects part of the French territory and whose impact reached Portugal since 11H33 (10H33 GMT),“ the company said in a statement.

”All plans for the phased restoration of power supply were activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators,“ it added.

”It would appear to be a problem in the [power] transmission network, the cause of which has yet to be identified, apparently in Spain,” Portuguese Government Spokesman Antonio Leitao Amaro told the Lusa press agency.

The Spanish government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Portuguese authorities have convened emergency meetings to address the crisis, with contingency plans activated to ensure safety and restore services.

Spanish airports were reported to be working with contingency generators, the airport authority Aena (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea) said while asking passengers to “consult with the airline before going to the airport, because there could be incidents in the accesses and ground transport.”

The Balearic and Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla were unaffected.