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Vast regions of Spain and Portugal have been hit by a major power outage, bringing transportation to a standstill.
Blackouts have been reported across Madrid and Lisbon, impacting communications, airports, high-speed rail networks, and road traffic due to the failure of traffic lights and electronic road signs.
Videos circulating online show chaos on railway systems in Spanish cities, with passengers being evacuated through tunnels after trains were halted and underground stations lost power.
Authorities are coordinating evacuations across parts of the Madrid metro system, while major traffic congestion has been reported in the city center as a result of non-functioning traffic lights.
Major Spanish cities including Barcelona, Seville, and Valencia have also been affected, according to media reports. Television footage from Barcelona shows deserted train stations and halted services.
Spain’s national railway operator, Renfe, stated that the entire national electricity grid was disconnected at 12:30 pm local time, leading to a complete suspension of train departures nationwide.
Airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto, and Faro experienced power losses, though backup generators have reportedly restored operations.
The Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended after the outage disabled scoreboards and cameras above the court.
In Lisbon, multiple subway trains were evacuated. Courts, ATMs, and electronic payment systems were disrupted across Portugal as well, while traffic lights in Lisbon failed, creating additional challenges.
Mobile phone networks were affected, making it impossible to place calls, though some messaging apps remained functional.
Hospitals and emergency services in Portugal switched to generator power. The blackout also impacted areas surrounding Lisbon as well as regions in northern and southern Portugal.
Spain’s electricity grid operator, Red Eléctrica, said it was collaborating with energy companies to restore services, estimating recovery could take six to ten hours. The company noted that the cause of the blackout was still under investigation and promised to provide further updates.
According to El País, the Spanish government has called an emergency meeting at Red Eléctrica’s headquarters.
With Spain and Portugal sharing a combined population of over 50 million, the exact number of people affected remains unclear.
An official briefed on the situation told Politico that a cyberattack had "not been ruled out," and investigations are ongoing.
Portuguese Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro suggested that the problem likely originated within Spain’s distribution network, though the full cause was still being determined.
Portugal’s national electric company, REN, cited a fire on France’s Alaric mountain that damaged a high-voltage power line as another potential contributing factor.
Portuguese distributor E-Redes stated the outage stemmed from an issue within the European electricity grid and said it had to implement controlled power cuts to stabilize the system. Some regions of France were also reportedly affected.
Spain’s traffic authority urged citizens to avoid driving to reduce risks from non-functioning traffic systems.
In Terrassa, a town about 50 km from Barcelona, shops sold out of generators amid a rush of customers preparing for prolonged outages.
In Portugal, police deployed extra officers to manage traffic and respond to incidents such as people trapped in elevators.
Portugal’s Civil Protection Agency confirmed that backup systems were functioning in key services.
Witnesses reported sudden losses of power in shops and businesses, forcing people to walk home as public transportation remained disrupted.
Hannah Lowney, a Manchester native living in Madrid, told BBC Radio 5 Live that she experienced the blackout while scanning groceries at Aldi. In a voice message, she described looking outside and seeing an entire street without power, while Aldi staff informed her that the outage was nationwide.
She added: "The traffic lights are out, people are leaving their offices and walking because they have no idea when the buses will run. It’s quite unsettling — I’ve never experienced a blackout of this scale before."
