Power has been largely restored across Spain and Portugal following a massive blackout on Monday that disrupted daily life across the Iberian Peninsula. The blackout left millions without electricity, halted public transportation, grounded flights, and forced hospitals to rely on emergency generators.
The outage began around 12:15 p.m. local time, when Spain’s grid operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), reported a sudden loss of 15 gigawatts, constituting about 60% of national demand, in just five seconds. This triggered a collapse of the Spanish electric system, which then cascaded into Portugal. By late Monday, power had been restored to 61% of Spain, and most substations in Portugal were back online, according to the grid operator.
In Madrid, several trains were immobilized, stranding passengers in tunnels stranded for hours. Supermarkets in Lisbon and Vilamoura closed, while residents in Madrid rushed to stockpile essentials. Traffic lights failed, and authorities encouraged drivers to reduce speed and exercise caution while on the roads. Many people opted to walk home, filling the streets with pedestrians.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blackout. Spanish officials pointed to a failed connection with France, while Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro indicated there were no signs of a cyberattack, according to Reuters.
As of Tuesday morning, Spain’s power generation is nearly back to normal. However, the incident has raised concerns about the resilience of the region’s power infrastructure and the need for prevention against such large-scale disruptions.
Subsequently, Greece’s government has heightened its alert level for the country’s electricity system. Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an emergency meeting to reevaluate Greece’s own power grid infrastructure as well as discuss the looming threat of cybersecurity attacks. Also attending the meeting included the head of the Energy Division at the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy, and Water (RAAEY), Mr. Dimitrios Fourlaris, the head of Greece’s Cybersecurity Authority, Mr. Michalis Bletsas, and senior executives from Greece’s transmission system operator (ADMIE) and distribution network operator (DEDDIE).
