Portugal recovers from blackout as power restored nationwide
Portugal experienced a severe blackout; however, most of the country has now regained access to electricity. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro assured the public that the situation is under control.
What do you need to know?
- Where did the outage occur? The blackout affected mainland Portugal, with impacts felt in several regions, including Alentejo and Beira Baixa.
- When was the power restored? Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced that most of the country had regained power by Monday evening.
- Why did the blackout occur? The disruption originated outside Portugal's borders, as its energy system is interconnected with Spain.
What actions were taken after the outage?
During a press conference in Lisbon, Portugal's Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, stated that the situation has been stabilised. Citizens can return to normal life, the prime minister emphasised. He added that there is no need to cancel classes in schools.
Montenegro highlighted that the blackout was due to external issues, with the Portuguese energy grid affected by their neighbour's outage; Portugal is energy-dependent on Spain, he noted.
What are the future plans?
The Prime Minister announced that the authorities' priority will be to develop energy security measures to prevent similar situations in the future.
The authorities plan to establish new energy connections to lessen dependence on Spain. The Prime Minister also urged citizens to use electricity wisely and cautioned against misinformation regarding the blackout.
Power outage: How did it affect the lives of residents?
The power outage had serious consequences for the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula. In both Lisbon and Madrid, services such as the metro, phones, traffic lights, and ATMs ceased to function. Some hospitals had to switch to emergency mode.
