Spain and Portugal experienced large-scale power and telephone outages, with disruptions also affecting France and Belgium. Due to the failure, operations were interrupted at Madrid’s international airport and Lisbon Airport.
The causes of the power outages have not yet been determined, El País newspaper said. Spain’s National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) is investigating whether the blackout could have been the result of a hacker attack.
The outage disrupted public transportation, traffic lights, and telephone communications. Train movement was nearly halted in parts of Madrid and Barcelona.
According to El País, mass power outages began at 12:20 p.m. local time (1:20 p.m. Moscow time). For unknown reasons, Spain’s electricity consumption suddenly plummeted from 27,075 MW to 12,321 MW. The state-owned company Red Eléctrica announced it had activated an emergency recovery plan and was coordinating efforts with other energy companies.
The Spanish government convened an emergency meeting following the massive network failure. The cabinet meeting is taking place at the official residence of the Prime Minister — the Moncloa Palace in Madrid.
The power outage also paralyzed operations at Lisbon Airport, which serves thousands of passengers.
Residents of Andorra and parts of France also reported electricity supply problems. Outages were additionally recorded in Belgium.
The Canary and Balearic Islands were not affected by the disruptions. The Canaries are powered by six independent systems isolated from mainland Spain and from each other. Meanwhile, the Balearic Islands' power supply relies on two interconnected systems and a submarine cable linking them to the Iberian Peninsula.