Massive power outage affects Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France.

Spain, Portugal, and parts of southwestern France experienced a significant power blackout that disrupted daily life and transportation across the regions, leading to emergency cabinet meetings convened by the Spanish and Portuguese governments. This outage initiated on a Monday, causing widespread repercussions such as public transport paralysis, severe traffic congestion, and delays in flights, while residents found themselves cut off from ATM services as utility operators worked diligently to restore power to the grid.

Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) acknowledged that restoring electrical service could take between six to ten hours. As the outage persisted, authorities struggled to ascertain its cause. While officials did not rule out the possibility of a cyberattack, investigations were still underway. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s office indicated that the government was utilizing all available resources to resolve the situation swiftly, urging residents to remain where they were to minimize chaos on the roads.

The European Commission responded promptly, communicating with local authorities to understand the root cause of the blackout. A spokesperson from the EU’s executive arm stated that the commission would continue monitoring the situation to ensure effective information exchange among all stakeholders.

As the power outage unfolded, various sectors were significantly impacted. Madrid’s city center faced heavy traffic jams and nonfunctional traffic lights. Reports emerged of individuals trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators. Amidst the chaos, residents expressed their frustration as their communication networks were compromised, rendering them unable to contact loved ones or attend to their daily obligations.

In the famous Cibeles Square, one of Madrid’s busiest areas, the failure of traffic signals led to a cacophony of emergency sirens and vehicular horns as law enforcement attempted to manage the stranded vehicles. Initially perceived as a temporary glitch, the blackout evolved into a more substantial crisis, affecting basic public services such as ATMs and traffic control systems.

The Madrid Open tennis tournament, a prestigious event drawing international attention, was momentarily disrupted as power failures rendered scoreboards and overhead cameras inoperable, affecting gameplay. In Portugal, similar issues were reported, including closed metro services in Lisbon and Porto, with utility provider REN activating plans for a phased restoration of energy with the aid of European energy producers.

Meanwhile, in France, a brief disruption was noted, but power was swiftly restored, highlighting the interconnected nature of the European energy grid coordinating a collective response. RTE, the French grid operator, mobilized teams to assist Spanish counterparts as they worked toward stabilizing their electrical networks.

As investigations continue into the causes behind this widespread outage, the response from government officials and utility operators has underscored the importance of resilience and preparedness in energy infrastructure management.

#WorldNews #MiddleEastNews