At around noon on April 28th local time, Spain and Portugal experienced a widespread power outage. Urban public transportation was instantly paralyzed, airports, train stations, and roads were in chaos, affecting several neighboring countries. The mayor of Madrid called on citizens to stay put and avoid going out after the incident occurred. Meanwhile, the president of the Madrid Autonomous Region appealed to the Spanish Prime Minister to immediately activate the emergency response plan, allowing the army to participate in rescue operations.
Although the power company is urgently repairing and restoring the power grid, the public is worried that the chaotic situation may last for days, and they are rushing into supermarkets to stock up on essential supplies, quickly emptying the shelves.
Large numbers of citizens and tourists queued up outside shops and banks, competing to buy supplies and withdraw cash, hoping to protect themselves as much as possible in an uncertain situation.
Long lines also formed at gas stations, with vehicles lining the streets, as residents tried to refuel their vehicles and fill spare fuel tanks.
Current leads on the cause
- Fire theory: A fire damaged a high-voltage wire in the Alaric Mountains in southwestern France, which is believed to have triggered the accident, but the French grid operator denied that the fire was the main cause.
- Possibility of cyberattack: The National Cybersecurity Agency (INCIBE) of Spain is investigating whether it was caused by a cyberattack. The EU cybersecurity agency stated that it is closely monitoring the situation but has not yet confirmed it is an attack.
- Grid anomaly: According to data from Spain's power company Red Eléctrica, electricity demand dropped sharply from 27,500 megawatts to about 15,000 megawatts at the time of the incident, and then gradually recovered.
This power outage event occurred just days after Spain's power grid first achieved full reliance on renewable energy (including wind, solar, and hydropower) for operation (April 16). Spanish officials are urgently investigating the cause of the blackout and said that a severe cyberattack could not be ruled out as the cause of this large-scale blackout.
All power was cut off in Valencia and Barcelona, the national railway network in Spain stopped running, internet services were interrupted, and traffic in Madrid and Lisbon came to a standstill.
Videos circulating on social media showed chaos in the rail networks across Spain, with subway stations losing power and passengers being evacuated to tunnels.
Parts of France were also affected by the power outage in Spain and Portugal. The French grid operator confirmed that some areas lost power supply, and Belgium also reported sporadic power outages.
The Spanish government said it is making efforts to "confirm the cause of the power outage." The Portuguese national power company (REN) said that a fire in the Alaric Mountains in southwestern France damaged high-voltage cables, which is also one of the possible causes.
A senior official of Spain's national grid operator said before 3 p.m. local time that this power outage was "extremely rare and abnormal," and it was expected to take 6 to 10 hours to repair.
In terms of airports, Porto and Faro airports have activated emergency generators, but operations at Lisbon airport are restricted. The Portuguese national airline TAP Air warned passengers not to go to the airport unless otherwise notified.
Part of the metro system in Madrid was evacuated urgently, traffic lights in the capital malfunctioned, and the risk of major road traffic increased.
In Barcelona, the entire tram system was shut down, and some traffic lights also failed.
National internet and phone lines were largely interrupted, and the Madrid Tennis Open was forced to suspend its matches.
A senior official told Politico: "Spain has established a crisis management committee to handle the situation. There is currently no definitive evidence of the cause, and the possibility of a cyberattack has not been ruled out. The investigation is ongoing."
The National Cybersecurity Agency of Spain (INCIBE) has also intervened in the investigation to verify whether it was caused by a cyberattack. The EU cybersecurity agency issued a statement saying: "We are closely monitoring the situation, and we have not yet confirmed whether it was a cyberattack."
The Spanish government said it is fully collecting evidence to determine the source of the power outage.
Backup generators allowed major hospitals in Spain to maintain basic operations during this power outage, but some hospitals suspended non-emergency surgeries. Important life-support devices such as ventilators and heart monitors continued to operate through emergency power.
An English teacher living in Barcelona told the Daily Mail that due to the interruption of mobile signals, "no one knew what happened."
This English teacher said he could only receive weak signals on the roof of his building, with absolutely no signal below the first floor. "Some traffic lights are still working, but the subway has stopped, and a large part of public transportation cannot be used."
Renfe, the Spanish railway company, said all trains nationwide had been suspended, with no departures, calling it a "national-level" power outage.
Spain's national grid operator Red Eléctrica said on platform X: "With the assistance of relevant companies, we have initiated a power restoration plan. We are analyzing the cause of the accident and investing all resources in repairs. We will continue to update the latest developments."
The capital of Portugal, Lisbon, was also plunged into panic. 23-year-old college student Lottie Fester told the media: "The power was completely cut off, everything was paralyzed, no one knew what happened or why there was a power outage. Traffic was in complete chaos on the roads, traffic lights went out, many businesses were impacted. What was terrifying was that people might get trapped in elevators, and everything came to a complete standstill."
In Valencia, Metrovalencia, the metro company, said that due to a citywide power outage, metro traffic was disrupted. The scope and duration of the power outage are still unclear.
The Spanish government has held an emergency meeting to monitor the situation in real time. The national grid operator Red Eléctrica pointed out that this accident affected the entire Iberian Peninsula and is currently assessing the specific impact. Currently, the number of people affected in Spain and Portugal, which have a population of over 50 million, remains uncertain.
The French grid operator said that parts of southern France experienced a short power outage and returned to normal within minutes. Southwestern France fires were not the main cause of the outage. According to RTE data, the Iberian Peninsula grid automatically disconnected from the European mainland grid at 12:38 to 13:30 local time.
Spain's national broadcaster RTVE reported that after noon, the power outage affected multiple regions, including the parliament building and subway stations. Electricity demand dropped sharply from 27,500 megawatts to about 15,000 megawatts around 12:15. Hours later, the power company said it had gradually restored power in the southern and northern parts of the peninsula.
In Portugal, the power outage affected Lisbon and other areas. The Portuguese government said the problem may have originated in Spain and is still being confirmed. Distribution company E-Redes pointed out that to stabilize the grid, partial power cuts had to be implemented. Some trains on the Lisbon Metro were urgently evacuated, courts were suspended, ATMs and electronic payment systems failed, traffic lights stopped operating, and mobile networks were once interrupted.
As of the time of this article, the Spanish power operator Red Eléctrica said that more than 20% of the affected power capacity in the country has been restored.
Portugal's grid operator REN said there is no indication that the major blackout was caused by a cyberattack. The operator does not rule out that the power outage may have been due to "very large voltage oscillations, first in the Spanish system and then affecting the Portuguese system."
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498495536035725839/
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