Much of Portugal and Spain are paralysed due to a power outage. The internet was down, trains ceased operations, and traffic lights went out in various locations. Authorities haven’t yet disclosed any proof of a hacking assault, though.

There are presently no indications of a cyberattack, according to officials, following a significant power outage on the Iberian Peninsula. “Nothing has been ruled out, but there is no indication that this is a cyberattack,” Luís Montenegro, the acting prime minister of Portugal, stated.

There is presently no proof of such a hack, according to António Costa, the Portuguese president of the EU Council and the head of the Portuguese Cybersecurity Agency.

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, stated that the reason is yet unknown. In a televised speech, Sánchez stated that while conjecture is not to be disregarded, no theory can be ruled out either.

The power outage affected millions of people and other cities, including the capitals of Lisbon and Madrid. Telephone lines, traffic lights, ATMs, and subway networks all experienced partial failures.

To avoid putting further strain on the networks, Sánchez advised users to use their cell phones only for brief, essential calls and to only dial the emergency number when it is absolutely required. “We will experience a few critical hours until the power supply is restored.”

Power outage could last for hours

The Portuguese grid operator REN announced that the entire Iberian Peninsula was affected, as well as part of France. According to REN, the blackout was caused by a problem in the Spanish power grid. This was triggered by extreme temperature differences in Spain—the grid operator called it a “rare atmospheric phenomenon.

“Portugal’s Prime Minister Montenegro said he expected the power outage to be resolved “in the coming hours.”

According to media reports, the Spanish electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica also expected this afternoon that it could take six to ten hours until the power supply is fully restored.

However, the company announced that supplies have now been restored in several regions – in the north, south, and west. Regions such as Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias, Navarre, and Castile have been restored.

Rail, air and road traffic affected

There are no reliable figures yet on how many people were cut off from healthcare overall. However, massive disruptions have been reported from both Spain and Portugal.

Portuguese police reported that traffic lights across the country were affected by the power outage. The subway in Lisbon and Porto was closed.

Spain’s railway company Renfe reported that the entire national power grid failed at 12:30 p.m. local time, with trains stopping at all stations and not departing. The Spanish rail network operator Adif also stated that a blackout had “led to the disruption of rail traffic across the entire network.”

Spanish radio stations reported that part of the Madrid subway system had also been evacuated. Traffic light outages caused traffic jams stretching for miles. The Ministry of Transport appealed to citizens to refrain from driving.

Internet networks stopped working, and people were stuck in elevators, according to Spanish media. According to public broadcaster RTVE, the Spanish parliament was also without power. However, thanks to the use of generators, hospitals were not affected, according to Spain’s Ministry of Health.

Masters tennis tournament in Madrid affected

Spain’s airport operator Aena also reported “incidents” due to the blackout. Emergency generators are active. Passengers should contact their respective airlines with any questions, as there may be problems with onward travel on the ground.

The Masters 1000 tennis tournament in the Spanish capital was also affected: When the power went out, three matches were in progress. Play was subsequently suspended.

Only short outages in France and Andorra

In the small state of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees, the power outage lasted only a few seconds, according to its energy supplier FEDA. The outage was caused on the Spanish side, and electricity was immediately restored thanks to the “automatic reconnection to the line coming from France.”

France was also temporarily affected by the blackout. The electricity grid operator RTE reported that households in the French part of the Basque Country were without power for several minutes. However, the supply has since been restored.