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Spain Portugal Power Outage: Electricity Restored but Cause Still Unknown
Spain Portugal power outage
After electricity was mostly restored on Tuesday, there was still some isolated interruption, and the reason of the massive outages in Spain and Portugal was still unknown.
On Monday, one of the worst blackouts in Europe knocked down ATMs throughout the Iberian Peninsula, halted aircraft, stopped rail systems, and interfered with cell connections.
Red Eléctrica, the power operator, said that the Spanish electrical system was operating regularly by 11 a.m. on Tuesday. All 6.4 million consumers now have electricity again, according to Portuguese grid operator REN.
Authorities in Spain had not yet offered a further reason for the five-second loss of 15 gigawatts, or 60% of the country’s total demand, as life started to return to normal.
In order to ensure that a similar incident “never takes place again,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on Tuesday that the government’s top objectives were repairing Spain’s electrical grid and identifying the reasons behind the blackout.
Deaths are investigated
Authorities were looking into five deaths that could have been connected to the blackout, including three deaths involving the same family, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
According to EFE, a lady in Valencia passed away following issues with an oxygen supply equipment, three relatives perished in Galicia from potential carbon monoxide inhalation from a generator, and a third died in a candle-caused fire in Madrid.
Sabotage ruled out
Prior to Monday’s blackout, Spain’s power operator’s head of services for system operations, Eduardo Prieto, saw two abrupt, consecutive “disconnection events.” He informed reporters that further research was required.
No “unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena” were found, according to Spain’s meteorological office AEMET, and its weather stations did not record any abrupt temperature changes.
According to Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Center, there was no indication that a hack was the cause of the outage. Additionally, European Commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera disregarded sabotage.
Return to travel and tennis
After 22 matches were postponed due to the darkness, the Madrid Open tennis event resumed. Iga Swiatek, rated second, advanced to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, part of a busy program.
On Tuesday, throngs of passengers queued to board trains or rebook trips at Spain’s biggest rail stations. Hundreds waited for information beside displays at the Atocha station in Madrid. Numerous others had slept at the station, covered with Red Cross blankets.
The metro system in Madrid was completely operational again by Tuesday at 11 a.m. Although the system was functioning correctly in Barcelona, Rodalies Catalunya, the company that operates the service, stated on X that certain commuter trains were still halted in the afternoon due to “electrical instability.”
Mid-distance and commuter trains were still either halted or operating at reduced capacity in various regions of Spain.
Spanish emergency personnel said that they had evacuated some 35,000 people who were stuck on trains and underground on Monday. Transit networks were particularly affected by the blackout, which resulted in the conversion of airports, train stations, and sports facilities into temporary shelters.
Despite being stuck on a commuter train outside of Madrid, Rubén Carión managed to open a window and make his way to the closest stop. Later, he stayed overnight at Atocha station with a companion.
Dozing off on the ground The 24-year-old summed up his experience in two words: “pure chaos.” He was “hungry, thirsty, and tired.”