A nationwide power outage hit Spain, Portugal, and part of southern France on Monday (Apr 28), leaving millions without electricity. While the cause of the power failure remains unclear, local media reports indicated issues with the European electric grid, which affected the national grids in the Iberian Peninsula.

Advertisment

Also read | 'Iran dangerously close to a weapon': Rubio warns EU nations as he calls for European sanctions

Power restored in southwestern France

The power was restored in southwestern France after some time, French high-voltage grid operator RTE said, adding that the cause remains unclear.

Advertisment

“An electrical incident is currently affecting Spain and Portugal, the cause of which remains to be determined,” RTE said. “In France, homes were without power for several minutes in the Basque Country. All power has since been restored.”

Also read | Trump-Meloni meet: EU tariff deal '100%' guaranteed; US-Ukraine minerals deal to be signed next Thursday

Trains, flight operations affected in Spain

Advertisment

Following the massive blackout in Spain, train and metro operations were halted across the entire country, while “several incidents” occurred in Spanish airports.

Mobile phone networks were also affected, reported AFP. People were seen coming out in the streets in Madrid and Barcelona, holding their smartphones up to try to connect to a network.

Many people had to rely on the radio to get news updates on the situation as the internet remained down.

Also read | 'Tariff, US-EU trade deal, or IMEC corridor?' What will Meloni-Trump discuss today during talks in Washington

Traffic was also affected as the traffic lights stopped working amid the massive power blackout. Spain's national road authority DGT urged motorists to stop using the roads.

The operator, Red Electrica, said it would likely take six to 10 hours to restore power in the country. It said that the power has started to be restored in the north and south of the country. However, the problem was not yet resolved, it added.

“We are continuing to work to bring back power,” it said.

Watch | Spain: Zmora's streets glow with holy week parades

EU ‘in contact’ with Spanish and Portuguese authorities

The European Commission said that it was “in contact” with Spanish and Portuguese authorities “to understand the underlying cause” of the power failure.

“The commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange amongst all relevant parties,” a spokesperson for the EU’s executive arm said.