CHEERS erupted across Spain and Portugal on Monday night as electricity finally flickered back to life following a colossal blackout that plunged the Iberian peninsula into darkness.
The major outage brought two nations to a grinding halt — grounding flights, crippling public transport, knocking out hospitals, and shuttering stores from Lisbon to Barcelona.
People cheered as power came back to the streets of Lisbon[/caption]
Cheers also erupted in Madrid when the power returned on Monday night[/caption]
The cause of the massive blackout, which began around 10.33am UK time, remains unclear.
Spain’s Interior Ministry declared a national emergency and deployed 30,000 police to maintain order as both governments held emergency cabinet meetings.
“This is something that has never happened before,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
About 61% of Spain’s power was restored by Monday night, with electricity returning first to the Basque Country, Barcelona, and parts of Madrid.
In Portugal, grid operator REN confirmed 85 out of 89 substations were back online, including the capital Lisbon.
On the streets, people celebrated. Some cooked meals by candlelight, others flocked to plazas in impromptu gatherings, and supermarket shelves were stripped bare as residents rushed to stock up.
But what caused both countries to plunge into darkness is still unknown.
“There could be a thousand and one causes, it’s premature to assess the cause,” said Joao Conceicao, a board member of Portugal’s grid operator REN.
He suggested, however, the blackout may have begun with a “very large oscillation in electrical voltage, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system”.
Spain‘s grid operator REE pointed to a connection failure with France.
“The extent of the loss of power was beyond what European systems are designed to handle and caused a disconnection of the Spanish and French grids, which in turn led to the collapse of the Spanish electric system,” said REE’s Eduardo Prieto.
Pedro Sanchez revealed Spain lost 15GW of electricity in just five seconds – equivalent to 60% of the country’s demand.
“Technicians were working to figure out why that sudden drop occurred,” he said.
Despite swirling rumours of sabotage, Portuguese PM Luis Montenegro said there was “no indication” of a cyberattack.
Still, Sanchez confirmed he had spoken to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as a precaution.
BLACKOUT CHAOS
The fallout was swift and widespread.
Trains were cancelled, metros shut down, and traffic lights across both countries went dark.
In Madrid, residents took to the streets in reflective vests to direct traffic, and some were trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators.
Hospitals in Madrid and Catalonia suspended all routine operations but kept emergency rooms running on backup generators.
Several oil refineries shut down, while big retailers like IKEA and Lidl closed their doors.
Sanchez later said around 35,000 train passengers had been rescued, with 11 trains still stuck in remote areas.
Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was also suspended.
Online, Portugal’s internet traffic plunged 90% and Spain’s dropped 80%, according to Cloudflare Radar.
The Bank of Spain assured the public that electronic banking was still functioning “adequately” on backup systems.
While the lights are slowly coming back on, the full cause and cost of the outage remain under investigation.
Prieto warned it could take “several hours” for systems to fully stabilise.
People sit outside Joaquin Sorolla train station in Valencia after services were cancelled[/caption]
BRITS’ TRAVEL HEADACHE
Brits abroad have had their holidays severely disrupted by the outages, and can’t even enjoy a pint to calm them down amidst the panic.
Melanie Halsall was on the last day of a padel trip with six pals to Vale de Lobo, southern Portugal, and can’t get back into the hotel room.
Unlike holidaymakers in Benidorm it seems, she and her pals say they have “beer and biscuits” to live off during the carnage.
Melanie told The Sun: “We were on a walk when suddenly everything went out.
“We can’t buy anything because the card machines aren’t working – not even water or ice cream. But we have got beer and biscuits so we’re surviving on that.
“Everyone is saying it’s a Russian cyber attack. It’s quite worrying. We’re all mums and need to contact our families, but our phones are about to run out and we can’t charge them.”
Meanwhile, Benidorm holidaymaker Mark England has warned that “if you haven’t got a drink, you are out of luck,” with bars and pubs unable to serve drinks due to a lack of power to their pumps.
He told the BBC: “There’s still no power. We’re walking down the main street now and the majority of shops are in darkness and shuttered up or have people on the entrances saying you can’t come in.
“There’s no cash machines, no traffic lights so it’s strange. It’s kind of bizarre.”
This bar in Toledo, central Spain, soldiered on through the outage[/caption]
Melanie and her pals from Ilkley are toughing it out with beer and biscuits[/caption]
Empty chairs at a restaurant[/caption]
Some Brits on holiday in Spain and Portugal also had their travel plans derailed.
Ashley Brown, 38, of Newcastle, was planning to fly home on Monday afternoon but her plans were cut short after all card payments were cut off.
The hairstylist, who was on holiday with a pal, told The Sun: “We were looking at getting the train back to the airport but there’s no way of paying.
“All payments are down. I can’t draw any money out. It’s an absolute nightmare. I’m meant to see clients in the morning and I can’t call to cancel.”
She added: “It’s things like this that really put it into perspective for you. I’ve got no way of paying for anything, and it’s really difficult to get something simple like a bottle of water.
She added: “It’s things like this that really put it into perspective for you. I’ve got no way of paying for anything, and it’s really difficult to get something simple like a bottle of water.
“My flight is gone and there’s no way I’m gonna be able to explain this, I can’t even call back home.”
A number of flights departed from Barcelona airport yesterday, but the roads surrounding the travel hub were chock full of traffic.
The airport was believed to be running on emergency power supplies. But hundreds of Brits were struggling to get out of the city.
Publican John Stevenson, 53, was on holiday with his wife and two adult children after jetting out to Barcelona on Tuesday last week.
He said: “The first thing I noticed was I couldn’t get down from the fifth floor of my hotel, I thought it was just us to begin with.
“I went down to the supermarket and the whole place was in complete darkness, it was absolutely surreal. It was like a horror film.
“I was able to pay in cash, but at this point in a holiday I have just a little bit that I was looking to get rid of at the airport. If this went on for days it would be hell.
“I’ve got a hire car and will be driving to the airport later, but I’m nearly empty on fuel and I’ve not been able to fill up anywhere.
“It just goes to show you, everything can go from being fine, to be in potentially dangerous, completely out of the blue.”
What does it mean for your flight?
THE Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in.
THE massive power outage across Spain and Portugal has thrown transport networks into chaos.
With Madrid’s international airport closed, flights are being delayed and could potentially be cancelled if the power cut goes on for a significant period.
While there is no compensation due to consumers for delays or cancellations as the chaos is outside of any airline’s control, they do have a duty of care.
If your flight is delayed by more than two hours, your airline should be providing you with food and drink – sometimes in the form of vouchers – as well as access to phone calls or emails.
If you are delayed overnight, accommodation and transport to and from the airport should also be provided.
With a sudden incident such as this, it may be necessary to pay for essentials but make sure you keep all receipts and keep any purchases reasonable.
If your flight is cancelled, your airline has to get you to your destination as quickly as possible – and by any means necessary, even if that means on a different airline’s flight.
However, practically in situations where thousands are impacted, it may be that you have to make your own arrangements – again, make sure your expenses are reasonable and will get you to your destination within a reasonable amount of time. Keep ALL receipts.
You are also entitled to a full refund but remember, if you choose this option, you are on your own and the airline is not responsible for getting you home.
If your travel insurance policy includes travel disruption cover then it may be possible to claim for disruption or losses incurred as a result of your trip being delayed or cancelled.
However, it’s worth noting that not all policies cover this as standard, and cover levels, conditions and exclusions can vary between providers, making it important to check with your insurer as your first port of call.