A massive power outage swept across Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France on Monday, according to national grid operators, impacting millions of people.
The exact cause of the blackout has not yet been disclosed.
Spain’s railway operator, Adif, reported that train services were completely halted across the country, while airports operator Aena noted several disruptions at Spanish airports.
Mobile phone services also went down, with AFP journalists in Madrid and Barcelona observing residents gathering in the streets, holding their phones up in an attempt to find a signal.
With internet services disrupted, many people turned to radios for updates. Traffic lights stopped functioning, leading to cautious driving and causing traffic slowdowns. Metro systems and trains were brought to a standstill, prompting Spain’s national traffic authority DGT to urge motorists to avoid travel.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was en route to Red Eléctrica, the state-owned grid operator, to receive an emergency briefing on the situation, his office confirmed.
Portugal’s REN stated that the blackout affected the entire Iberian Peninsula and parts of France, beginning at 11:33 a.m.
Spain’s Red Eléctrica reported that efforts were underway to restore electricity, with some progress in the northern and southern regions, but full service had not yet been resumed. “We are continuing our work to fully restore power,” the operator stated.
Spanish newspaper El País shared images showing halted metro trains in Madrid, police manually directing traffic, and their own newsroom operating by flashlight.
Madrid Open Tennis Tournament Disrupted by Blackout
The ongoing power failure also interrupted play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament. Matches were suspended after world number four Coco Gauff and rising star Mirra Andreeva secured spots in the quarterfinals.
During the Centre Court match between Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Britain’s Jacob Fearnley — with Dimitrov leading 6-4, 5-4 — play was halted due to the outage.
The ATP Tour reported that the blackout disabled the electronic line-calling system and caused a spider cam to hang precariously over the Manolo Santana Stadium court.
Tournament officials announced via social media that efforts to restore power were ongoing, although they did not provide a specific timeline.
