Massive Power Outage Strikes Spain and Portugal, Leaving Millions in the Dark
Spain and Portugal are grappling with a significant power outage that has led to widespread blackouts across both countries. The Spanish electricity network operator, Red Eléctrica, has confirmed the incident, announcing that they have activated emergency plans to restore power. This disruption has impacted the Iberian Peninsula, home to over 50 million residents.
According to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE, the major blackout occurred around 12:30 PM local time, affecting multiple regions throughout Spain. Notably, it left several critical locations, including the newsroom of RTVE itself, Spain's parliament in Madrid, and metro stations throughout various cities, without power. Residents shared their experiences of the outage in WhatsApp chats, particularly in Barcelona and its suburbs.
Portugal, which has a population of approximately 10.6 million, also felt the repercussions of the blackout. The outage struck the capital, Lisbon, as well as surrounding areas and both the northern and southern regions of the country. The Portuguese electricity distributor, ERedes, attributed the blackout to a complication within the European electricity system, as reported by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso.
ERedes further stated that it had to strategically cut power in certain areas to stabilize the grid. The outage caused significant disruptions, with reports indicating that mobile phone networks were largely inoperative, although some apps managed to stay functional. Additionally, unconfirmed reports indicated that the Lisbon subway service ground to a halt, and traffic lights in the city center ceased functioning, contributing to urban chaos.
As the situation unfolds, both Spain and Portugal are urging residents to stay calm and remain updated through official channels. Authorities are working relentlessly to restore normalcy, and further updates are expected to emerge regarding the cause and resolution of this extensive outage.
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