Massive power outage hits parts of Europe: Spain estimates 6-10 hour fix, Portugal says 'impossible' to predict restoration time

A massive power blackout hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, causing major disruptions to daily life. Public transport was paralysed, traffic jams piled up, and flights were delayed as utility companies scrambled to restore power.

According to a Reuters report, Spanish power distributor Red Electrica warned that it could take between 6 to 10 hours to fully restore electricity across large parts of Spain.

In Portugal, it remains unclear how long the country will be without power after the widespread blackout. The country's electricity grid operator, REN, said in a statement, "At this time it is still impossible to predict when the situation will be normalised," adding that it had "all resources deployed" to resolve the blackout.

Authorities were unable to explain the cause of the outage even an hour after it occurred, although the possibility of a cyberattack has not been ruled out. Investigations are ongoing, and a crisis committee has been set up in Spain to manage the situation. Emergency cabinet meetings were convened by both the Spanish and Portuguese governments, with the blackout briefly affecting parts of France near the Spanish border.

Portugal’s utility company REN confirmed that the power cut impacted the entire Iberian Peninsula, including parts of France. Red Electrica in Spain is working closely with regional energy companies to restore power, and REN stated that phased restoration plans were being activated in coordination with European energy producers and operators.

"All plans for the phased restoration of energy supply are being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators," a REN spokesperson said. "REN is in permanent contact with official entities, namely the National Civil Protection Authority. At the same time, the possible causes of this incident are being assessed."

The blackout also disrupted sporting events. Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, forcing 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court as scoreboards went dark and cameras lost power.

In Madrid, traffic jams occurred as traffic lights stopped working, and part of the underground metro was evacuated. Some people were trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators. Hundreds of people were seen standing outside office buildings, and a heavy police presence was visible around key locations, directing traffic.

In Portugal, traffic lights were also affected, and both the Lisbon and Porto metros were shut down. Trains were not running across the country. Lisbon’s subway system came to a halt, leaving people stranded inside trains. Lisbon airport continued operations on backup generators, while airports across Spain, managed by AENA, reported flight delays.

This blackout has disrupted air traffic, affecting flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, European air traffic organisation Eurocontrol said.

The organisation said it was still too early to say how many flights would be affected.

In France, grid operator RTE reported a brief outage, but power was quickly restored. The company is also investigating the cause.

Inputs from agencies