A massive power outage that has caused chaos in Spain and Portugal is beginning to be fixed but many remained without electricity on Monday.
Millions of people were left in the dark as the power went out, communication networks were disrupted, traffic lights stopped working and lifts became stranded.
Most Spanish trains remain out of service despite power being restored to many areas.
Work on restoring power to regions in Spain was progressing, the Spanish electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica said on X, adding that about 60% of electricity had been restored by late Monday.
Power had largely been restored in Madrid, following an almost nine hour blackout. Cheering erupted in one neighbourhood as the power was restored, local media reported.
Prime Minister Sánchez urges calm
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on citizens to remain calm.
“It’s going to be a long night. We’re working tirelessly to restore power,” he wrote on X.
“Thanks to all the workers who are dedicated to restoring normality,” he added.
Earlier, in a televised address which not all the public could see due to the outage, he urged people to make only brief and urgent phone calls and to use the emergency number only when strictly necessary.
The government was in contact with the royal household, parliamentary parties, European partners and NATO, he said.
“We’ll be working flat out, all night long. With professionalism and commitment. As Spain always does in these situations,” he wrote on X.
Sánchez added that the restoration of power in the northern and southern regions of the country had been achieved thanks to cooperation with authorities in France and Morocco. He thanked the countries for their solidarity.
European Council: Currently no signs of a cyberattack
Some medium- and long-distance trains in Spain remained out of service and it was “not expected” that they would resume until Tuesday, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said on X.
The cause of the outage has not been announced.
European Council President António Costa wrote on X that there was currently no indication that a cyberattack was the cause.
“Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause, and on restoring the electricity supply,” he added.
The Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended.
“The lack of power led to the operational downfall of infrastructure across the nation, including in the Caja Magica,” organizers wrote.
“The organization, having liaised with the competent authorities, had no choice but to suspend/cancel all sporting activity in order to guarantee the safety of the players, fans and personnel at the Caja Magica.”
The impact on the tournament was still being evaluated, organizers said.
Spain’s Health Ministry said hospitals were not as severely hit thanks to backup generators.
Portugal, parts of France also affected
In neighbouring Portugal, there was a blackout in several areas, broadcaster RTP reported.
Spain’s Canary and Balearic Islands were not affected, while a power outage in neighbouring Andorra lasted only a few seconds before the grid was automatically reconnected to the French grid, operator FEDA said on X.
Parts of France’s Basque region were also affected for a short time before power was restored.
The European Commission was in contact with Spanish and Portuguese authorities “to understand the underlying cause and the impact of the situation,” a spokeswoman said in Brussels.
“There are protocols in place to restore the functioning of the system,” she added.