Iberian blackout chaos: Cities crippled by power cut
Spain and Portugal have experienced a significant power outage that paralysed daily life. Many cities faced power shortages for several hours. In the evening, power was restored in some areas, prompting people to joyfully take to the streets to celebrate in certain places.
What do you need to know?
- The power outage affected Spain and Portugal, causing chaos in transportation and daily life. In Madrid and other cities, traffic lights, the underground, and cash machines were not operational.
- The cause of the outage was the disconnection of the European interconnection system by France.
- Restoration of power took several hours, and in some regions, such as Catalonia, 60% of residents still remain without power.
What were the effects of the power outage in Spain?
On Monday, a major power outage hit Spain and Portugal, causing significant disruptions to the functioning of the cities.
In Madrid, traffic lights stopped working, resulting in chaos on the roads. The underground and cash machines were also out of service, and some hospitals had to switch to emergency mode.
The Spanish energy provider, Red Eléctrica, stated that restoring power could take from 6 to 10 hours. In the evening, electricity returned to some parts of the country, but in other areas, repairs are still ongoing. "Such a severe crisis has never happened before," said Eduardo Prieto from Red Eléctrica.
"That's how the return of light sounds"
The Spanish radio station Cadena SER posted a short video showing residents celebrating the return of power on Gran Vía, Madrid's main street.
"Shouts of joy on the street. This is how the return of light on Gran Vía in Madrid sounds," the video was captioned.
"El País" writes that in some areas of Madrid, power was restored after more than a nine-hour interruption. A short video shows residents celebrating the return of power by going out onto balconies and clapping.
Power partially restored
Power was also partially restored in other parts of Spain, such as Catalonia, Valencia, and Andalusia.
Around 7:00 PM GMT, underground service resumed in central Bilbao, in the Basque Country. Rail and tram connections are also operational. In Catalonia, it is anticipated that the commuter rail will return to normal functioning on Tuesday.
What caused the power outage on the Iberian Peninsula?
The cause of the outage was the disconnection of the European interconnection system by France.
Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, emphasised at a press conference that within five seconds, 15 gigawatts of power was lost, which accounted for about 60% of the power in the system. "This has never happened before," Sánchez noted.
Authorities are not ruling out any scenario, and work on restoring full power is ongoing. The government has also decided to release part of the strategic oil reserves to mitigate the effects of the outage.
