Spain power outage: Partial power restored, cause yet to be determined | What we know so far

A widespread power outage struck Spain and parts of Portugal on Monday, disrupting train services, halting air traffic, and affecting telecommunications across the Iberian Peninsula. Airports operated on backup power, causing major delays, while train operations were suspended, and events like the Madrid Open tennis tournament were brought to a standstill. TAP Air Portugal advised passengers not to travel to airports until further notice.

Power gradually being restored

Spanish power operator Red Eléctrica confirmed that electricity had been restored to several regions. According to BBC, parts of Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias, Navarre, Castile and León, Extremadura, Andalusia, and La Rioja have seen supply return.

“Power has already been restored at substations in several areas,” Red Eléctrica said, adding that electricity would continue to be restored progressively in other regions as systems stabilised.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also confirmed that electricity was returning to parts of northern and southern Spain, but urged citizens to act “responsibly” during this critical period.

Citizens urged to limit phone use

In his address, Sánchez asked the public to use phones only for necessary and brief communications, warning that the telecommunications system remained fragile. He also announced a heightened security presence on the streets but assured that no security incidents had been reported so far.

Hospitals continued to operate, vulnerable citizens were receiving treatment at home, ports remained functional, and air and train traffic was halted for safety reasons.

Cause of outage remains unknown

Speaking to reporters, Sánchez stated that the exact cause of the blackout was still unknown and warned against speculation. “No cause can be discredited at this point,” he said.

Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente indicated that medium and long-distance train services were unlikely to resume normal operations today. Authorities were working to restore commuter train services as soon as the power supply stabilised.

Rescue efforts were underway for passengers stranded on halted trains, but Puente noted that recovery of control systems and repositioning of trains would take time. The government aims to fully resume services by tomorrow, provided restoration efforts continue smoothly.

Possible technical cause identified by Portugal

Meanwhile, Portugal’s electricity grid operator REN suggested a possible technical cause. According to REN, the blackout was triggered by “anomalous oscillations” in very high-voltage lines due to extreme temperature variations in Spain.

Financial Express reported that this rare phenomenon, known as an “induced atmospheric variation,” caused synchronisation failures across the interconnected European electricity network, leading to successive disturbances and outages.