Large-scale power outages in Portugal and Spain

According to reports, there have been massive power cuts in Portugal and Spain since Monday afternoon. Millions of people are currently without electricity. Rumors that have not yet been confirmed claim that this is due to problems with the European power grid.

A heise online author currently in Portugal confirms massive power cuts in Lisbon: public transport is affected, subway trains are no longer running, traffic lights are down, restaurants, supermarkets and other stores have no electricity. The pumps for drinking water no longer seem to be working, as water is only dripping from the taps. The airport is also impacted. The police are currently assessing the situation.

El País reports that the Spanish government is currently investigating the power outage – without any results so far. The outage, which has been in place since around 12 noon, has impacted almost the entire infrastructure, communications, train stations, stores, and buildings. The public utility company Red Eléctrica is working on solving the issues. The utility company writes on X: “We are beginning to restore the power supply in the north and south of the peninsula, which is crucial for the gradual supply of electricity. It is a process linked to the gradual activation of the transmission network as the generation groups are coupled. We are continuing to work on preparing the supply.”

Sudden drop in demand

Bloomberg editor Javier Blas posted a current graphic on X that shows the demand on the Spanish electricity grid. It shows a sudden decline in demand from around 25 gigawatts to around 11 gigawatts at around 1 pm. However, the cause of the outage is still unknown.

A live ticker from Portugal provides an insight into the current situation. The transmission system operator Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) has confirmed the massive power outage on the Iberian Peninsula and in parts of France. Plans to restore the power supply have been activated. Train services on the Lisbon metro have been suspended and passengers evacuated from the trains. The police are urging caution on the roads due to the failure of traffic lights.

Portugal's Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, spoke to the television station RTP3 and did not rule out a cyberattack. According to him, the outage affects France, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, and even Germany. So far, however, we cannot confirm any reports of power outages in Germany, as we have not received any reports in this regard.

We will update this report if new information becomes available.

At the beginning of 2021, there were already massive problems in the European power grid. There was a near-blackout in large parts of Europe, triggered by a substation in Croatia.

(dmk)