A widespread power outage struck Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France on Monday, severely disrupting daily activities and impacting millions of people, according to grid operators.
The exact cause of the blackout had not been identified at the time of reporting.
Spain’s railway operator, Adif, reported that train services were suspended nationwide, while airports operator Aena mentioned experiencing “several incidents” across Spanish airports.
Mobile networks also went offline. In Madrid and Barcelona, many residents stepped outside, holding their phones aloft in search of a signal. With internet access severely limited, many had to rely on radio broadcasts for updates.
Numerous traffic lights were disabled, leading to slower vehicle movement and an increased risk of accidents. Authorities halted metro and train services and urged motorists to avoid traveling.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez headed to the headquarters of Red Electrica, the national electricity operator, for a detailed briefing on the situation.
Portugal’s energy operator REN confirmed that the blackout impacted the entire Iberian Peninsula and portions of France, noting that the outage began at 11:33 a.m.
Red Electrica announced it had begun restoring power to some northern and southern regions of Spain but emphasized that full restoration was still underway.
Images shared online showed metro trains halted in Madrid, police manually directing traffic, and journalists working in darkened offices illuminated only by flashlights.
Power Outage Affects Madrid Open Tennis Tournament
The blackout also interrupted matches at the Madrid Open tennis tournament. After Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva secured their quarter-final berths, play was suspended due to the citywide power loss.
On Centre Court, the match between Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Britain’s Jacob Fearnley was halted with Dimitrov leading 6-4, 5-4, as Fearnley was serving to stay in the match.
The ATP reported that the power loss disabled the electronic line-calling system and left a spider camera hanging over Manolo Santana Stadium. Tournament organizers assured they were working to restore power “as quickly as possible,” though no specific timeline was provided.
