Power was almost fully restored to Spain and Portugal on Tuesday although many questions remained about what caused one of Europe's most severe blackouts that grounded flights, paralyzed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula.
Spanish authorities did not provide new explanations for what caused the blackout, one of the most serious to ever take place in Europe. On the other hand, Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center on Monday denied speculations about foul play, saying there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyber attack.
What Caused The Power Outage?
According to The Associated Press, the officials in Spain did not say what caused the blackout, the second such serious European power outage in as many months after a fire at Heathrow Airport shut down Britain's busiest travel hub on March 20.
They reportedly said that there was little precedent for this kind of widespread electric failure across all of the Iberian Peninsula, with a combined population of some 60 million.
Across the Mediterranean Sea, Spain's Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla were spared. The Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa were also spared.
In a televised address Monday night, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the power grid for the Southern European nation of 49 million people lost 15 gigawatts — equivalent to 60% of its national demand — in just five seconds.
"We have never had a complete collapse of the system," Sánchez said. Authorities were still investigating what happened on Tuesday.
"We have never had a complete collapse of the system," Sánchez said, explaining how Spain's power grid lost 15 gigawatts, the equivalent of 60% of its national demand, in just five seconds.
In his televised address late Monday, Sánchez said that authorities were still investigating what happened. Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center threw cold water on feverish speculation about foul play, saying there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyber attack.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage. Nonetheless, the outage "is one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times," she said.
According to AP, Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center on Monday denied speculations about foul play, saying there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyber attack.
European Council President Antonio Costa also said there were "no indications of any cyber attack" Monday afternoon.
Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage. Nonetheless, the outage "is one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times," she said.
Current Status; What's Delayed?
Spain's electricity operator Red Eléctrica told the media that by 7 am, more than 99% of energy demand had been restored in the country. Portuguese grid operator REN said Tuesday morning all of the 89 power substations were back online since late last night and power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers.
By Tuesday morning, life was returning to normal as schools and offices reopened in Spain, traffic eased along the capital's main arteries and public transport restarted after significant delays.
By 11 am on Tuesday, service on Madrid's metro system was fully restored.
At Spain's largest train stations, droves of travelers waited Tuesday morning to board trains, or to rebook tickets for journeys that were canceled or disrupted on Monday and return home.
At Atocha station in Madrid, hundreds of people stood near screens waiting for updates. Many had spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets provided by the Red Cross around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning for those who had to wait overnight thanks to canceled trains. Similar scenes played out at Barcelona's Sants station.
The Madrid Open tennis tournament being held this week was still affected by the power outage Tuesday after its cancellation the previous day. Tournament organizers delayed opening its doors.
What Still Remains Disrupted?
In Barcelona, the system was operating normally but commuter trains were suspended due to "electrical instability," the company that runs the service, Rodalies Catalunya, said on X.
In some parts of the country, commuter and mid-distance services were still suspended or running at reduced capacity.
Emergency workers in Spain said they had rescued some 35,000 passengers on Monday stranded along railways and underground, with the blackout turning sports centers, train stations and airports into makeshift overnight refuges.
