Spain and Portugal suffered massive power outages on Monday that caused major disruptions to public transport, traffic jams and flight delays as utilities struggled to restore power.
Following the power outage, which also briefly affected parts of northeastern France, the governments of Spain and Portugal held emergency cabinet meetings.
While utility operators worked to restore the grid, Spanish transmission operator Red Eléctrica said the outage, the cause of which has not yet been determined, could last between six and 10 hours. Officials said they could not rule out a cyberattack.
Portugal's REN confirmed a power outage on the Iberian Peninsula that also affected parts of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional power companies to restore power.
“All plans for the gradual restoration of electricity supply are being activated in cooperation with European energy producers and operators,” a REN spokesman said.
“REN is in constant contact with official structures, including the National Civil Defense Agency. At the same time, possible causes of this incident are being investigated.”
Spanish radio stations are reporting that parts of the Madrid metro are being evacuated. Traffic jams have formed in central Madrid as traffic lights have stopped working, according to radio station Cader Ser.
Hundreds of people gathered outside office buildings in Madrid, and there was a heavy police presence around key institutions directing traffic and patrolling central squares with sirens blaring, a Reuters witness said.
The witness added that one of the four high-rise buildings in Madrid, which houses the British embassy, had been evacuated.
Local radio reported people trapped in subway cars and elevators.
Portuguese police said traffic lights were switched off across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto and train services were suspended.
Lisbon's metro operator, Metropolitano de Lisboa, said trains had been stopped and people were still on board, according to Publico newspaper.
A source at Portugal's TAP Air said Lisbon airport was running on backup generators, while AENA, which operates 46 airports in Spain, reported flight delays across the country.
In France, network operator RTE said there had been a brief outage but power had been restored and an investigation into the cause was underway.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
