Large parts of Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness on Monday following a widespread power outage that caused significant disruptions to daily life, transportation, and essential services.
The outage, which affected airlines, metro systems, and rail services across both countries, prompted Portuguese national carrier TAP Air Portugal to urge passengers to avoid traveling to airports until further notice.
Similarly, easyJet reported service disruptions at major airports including Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona, citing the widespread blackout as the cause.
Spain’s national electricity operator, Red Eléctrica, confirmed that the outage had impacted much of the country.
The company announced it is actively working to restore services and investigate the cause of the blackout. In an update posted on social media platform X, Red Eléctrica assured the public that “all resources are being used to resolve the problem as soon as possible,” and noted that electricity supply is beginning to gradually recover.
French electricity transmission company RTE is assisting Spanish authorities in restoring the power supply. RTE confirmed that France itself has not been affected by the incident.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister also offered support, indicating that Ukraine stands ready to assist in restoring power to the affected regions.
The blackout has had sweeping impacts across Iberia. In Madrid, the ongoing Madrid Open tennis tournament was canceled. In Lisbon, reports emerged of widespread disruptions to metro services between Lisbon and Porto, halted train operations, and non-functioning traffic lights. Local media, including BBC correspondent Holly Valleys, described chaotic scenes, with individuals being forced to leave salons mid-haircut due to the sudden loss of electricity.
REN attributed the outage to extreme and abrupt temperature changes affecting Spain’s power infrastructure. Spanish officials have not yet formally commented on this explanation.
However, Red Eléctrica reported that voltage has been restored at some substations in the north, south, and west of Spain.
The disruption to the rail network has been particularly severe. Spanish rail company Renfe announced the suspension of all services, while Madrid’s Metro service reported that all its lines were closed as of Monday afternoon.
The Spanish government is treating the crisis with urgency. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has convened an "extraordinary" meeting of the National Security Council to assess the situation and coordinate the response.
Internet services and mobile communications have also been disrupted in several areas, further complicating recovery efforts. In light of the situation, the mayor of Madrid urged residents to minimize travel and stay where they are until further notice.
Authorities continue to work to fully restore services and investigate the underlying causes of this unprecedented blackout, which has thrown much of the Iberian Peninsula into turmoil.