On Monday, most of the blackouts in Spain and Portugal and in southern France knocked down traffic lights and damaged public transport and airport operations.
Officials did not say what caused the interruption, but some denied any fouls.
"Grid operators in both countries (Spain and Portugal) are working to find reasons and restore power supply," said Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, in an article on X.
Costa Rica is the Prime Minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024.
"At this point, there is no sign of a cyberattack," he said.
Here is what we know:
What happened in Europe and when?
GMT swept most of the Iberian Peninsula around 10:30 GMT - 12:30 PM local time in Spain and Portugal at 11:30 am.
Parts of southern France were also briefly affected, but the service was quickly restored.
Critical infrastructure has been severely affected: Metro systems in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon were shut down, while major airports such as Madrid-Barajas and Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado face significant delays and partial closures.
According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, "restores Spain to the 19th century."
Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reported at Valencia Airport in Spain: "The train is not running, the traffic lights are lowered, causing chaos. Many cities are completely dark."
“Authors have said this is the first time in history that such a large-scale power outage has occurred,” she added.
Real-time electricity demand. Spanish Red Electric Data. It's now seven hours after Batacazo: slow recovery, but far from normal. #blackout pic.twitter.com/8vccxsuidn
—José María MonteroS (@Monteromonti) April 28, 2025
Translation: Real-time power demand. Data from Red Electric. This is what is happening now, seven hours after the power outage: the recovery is slow, but away from normal situations.
The figure shows that electricity consumption dropped from about 26,000 megawatts to just 12,000 in a few minutes.
Where does the interrupt happen?
Spain and Portugal jointly own the location of about 60 million people, which has been the biggest impact.
- Spain: Major urban centers such as Avila, Madrid, Murcia, Galicia, Alicante, Zaragoza, Barcelona and Sevilla, reported extensive damage. The Canary and Balearic Islands were not affected.
- Portugal: Lisbon and Porto have experienced comparable challenges.
- Southern France: Parts of the Basque country in France saw a brief power outage. But officials from France's power transmission network said the interruption lasted only a few minutes.
- Morocco: Some reports indicate Internet provider Morocco As a result of network connections to France and disruptions there, a brief effort is also made to maintain service.
What other impact?
The Madrid Open tennis match was suspended. Organizers said no action will be taken on Monday to ensure general safety.
Madrid firefighters have conducted more than 200 “elevator interventions” throughout the city, while the health service has conducted 167 interventions, most for respiratory problems and anxiety attacks.
Meanwhile, according to local media reports, in Lisbon, people rushed to grocery stores to store water and non-rotten goods.
What causes the power outage?
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said everything points to the major power outage in Spain.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the exact cause is unclear and that while there is no evidence of a cyber attack, he did not rule out anything. He warned against speculation, but said, "There is no reason to discredit it at the moment."
The European Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) is the group's cybersecurity unit, and he has shown current evidence that cable failures.
But experts in recent weeks have also warned that excessive generation of power in the grid could trigger power outages. In early April, Belgium's grid operators warned that too much power generation could destabilize the grid.
Spain has seen record hours in recent months, while electricity prices are negative and wind power is increasing, according to a Bloomberg report. However, until now, oversupply has not caused power outages.
What's the latest on the ground?
The power has returned to parts of the north, south and Spain, grid operators said Monday.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said that medium-sized and long-distance train services are unlikely to resume by tomorrow. Meanwhile, Red Electrica estimates that a complete repair can take between 6 and 10 hours.
Authorities say power has now been restored in parts of Catalonia, Aragon, Galicia, Asturias, Naval, Castilla and Leon, Exretula, Andalusia and Larioja.
According to Spanish news agency EFE, by 4:30 p.m. local time (18:30 GMT), Spain's electricity consumption has reached more than 50% of the usual level.
Ren, a power grid operator in Portugal, said production has resumed at the Castelo Do Bode Hydreelectric plant and the Tapada Do Outeiro Thereelectric facility.
Ren said that as these stations return online, energy consumption gradually recovered in Portugal, starting in areas near the factory and extending outward.