Spain and Portugal outage LIVE as grid operator claims to know cause of the disruption

Spanish airline Vueling said it was ‘working to minimise the impact’ of the blackouts on their flights in Spain ‘and other markets’ on Monday.

‘Some of our flights may be affected. You can check the status of your flight here. We continue to monitor the situation,’ a statement read.

EU chief Antonio Costa cast doubt on speculation the blackouts sweeping Spain and Portugal were caused by a cyber attack.

Costa said on Monday that ‘at this point, there are no indications of any cyberattack’.

‘Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause, and on restoring the electricity supply,’ Costa, who heads the European Council representing EU member states, wrote on X, after being in touch with leaders in Spain and Portugal.

REN, Portugal’s grid operator says that the widespread blackouts over Spain and Portugal have been caused by a ‘rare atmospheric phenomenon’.

The operator says that extreme temperature variations along the grid had led to ‘anomalous oscillations’ in very high-voltage power lines.

This effect, known as ‘induced atmospheric variation’ leads to power oscillations throughout the grid.

This causes the voltage and frequency of some parts of the grid to get out of sync with the rest of the grid.

The differences between the different sections can lead to irregular or excessive power flow to some areas, damaging equipment and triggering widespread power failures.

Fans walk through the dark gangways during a general power blackout during Day Seven of the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on April 28, in Madrid

According to REN, these oscillations lead to ‘successive disturbances across the interconnected European network’ which caused today’s blackouts.

Temperature differences lead to oscillations in the grid, primarily due to the sudden imbalance of electricity demand.

When one area on the grid is exceptionally hot, the demand for electricity increases as people turn on air conditioning units to cool their homes.

When the fluctuations between high-demand and low-demand areas are large enough, it can trigger oscillations capable of causing synchronisation issues.

Full restoration of power in Portugal could take as long as a week, the country’s electricity grid operator has warned.

Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) said in a statement that the outages appeared to have been caused by ‘extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain’, leading to ‘anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400kv), a phenomenon known as “induced atmospheric variation”‘.

REN claimed that, ‘due to the complexity of the phenomenon and the need to rebalance electricity flows internationally, it is estimated that full normalisation of the network could take up to a week.’

Spain’s operator said earlier today that restoring power could take between six and ten hours.

People buy goods at a supermarket due to the blackout, in Lisbon, Portugal

Petrol stations are said to have closed across Spain amid the ongoing outages.

Photos from the village of Villabona showed a station closed off to the public during Monday’s blackout.

One reader currently travelling in their motorhome through the Costa Blanca told MailOnline ‘all the petrol stations [were] closed’ when they went to fill up in Torrevieja, south of Alicante.

The Associated Press reported that ‘gas stations stopped working’ in Portugal as hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators.

A closed petrol station in Villabona on April 28, 2025, during a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula and the south of France.

Popular airline Ryanair is monitoring ‘potential disruption’ to flights to and from Spain and Portugal today, amid the ongoing blackouts.

‘Due to a general power outage affecting mainland Spain and Portugal today, Monday, April 28, we are monitoring the potential disruption of flights operating to/from all airports in mainland Spain and Portugal,’ the latest update said.

‘We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused as a result of this power outage, which is beyond our control.’

Panicked customers scrambled to withdraw cash from banks and streets overflowed with crowds trying in vain to get a signal as a Spain-wide power outage plunged the country into chaos on Monday.

Carlos Condori, one of millions of people affected in Spain and Portugal, was travelling on the Madrid metro when the blackout brought his journey to a shuddering halt.

‘The light went out and the carriage stopped,” but the train managed to crawl into the platform, the 19-year-old construction sector worker told the AFP news agency outside a metro station in central Madrid.

‘People were stunned, because this had never happened in Spain,’ he added. ‘There’s no (phone) coverage, I can’t call my family, my parents, nothing: I can’t even go to work.’

At Cibeles Square, one of the Spanish capital’s busiest thoroughfares, the blackout of traffic lights unleashed a cacophony of sirens, whistles and car horns as police tried to control the pile-up of traffic.

Bewildered office workers congregated in streets with their computers made useless without internet, alongside residents were thankful they had not been trapped in lifts.

A disorientated Marina Sierra was trying to contact her dad and improvise a route home to the Madrid suburbs after her school was shut.

‘The building we were in was giving off smoke, they had to evacuate us quickly…. I’m shocked because everything is totally out of control,’ the 16-year-old student said.

Transport chaos also gripped Spain’s second city Barcelona, where locals and tourists alike flooded the streets in a desperate attempt to find out what had happened.

Student Laia Montserrat, who lives one hour outside Barcelona, was in the middle of a presentation when the blackout struck her school and left her in a predicament.

‘As the internet wasn’t coming back, they told us to go home… (but) there weren’t trains either,’ Laia told AFP. ‘Now we don’t know what to do.’

Ukraine said it was ready to assist in restoring energy networks after blackouts hit Spain and Portugal.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galuschenko said on Monday the wartorn nation was in a position to help its European partners, still facing up to 9 hours offline.

‘We are ready to share the knowledge and experience, including those gained during the systematic Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure,’ Galuschenko said in a post on X.

Spanish electricity transmission operator Red Eléctrica said the cause of the outage was not immediately known.

France’s high-voltage grid operator denied reports that a fire in the south of France had caused today’s widespread outages across Europe.

A fire was reported to have occurred on the Alaric mountain, near Narbonne, damaging a high-voltage power line.

European channels suggested this had been identified as a ‘possible cause’.

RTE said there was ‘no impact on the supply-demand balance’ in France.

According to RTE, the Iberian grid was automatically disconnected from the European grid from 12:38 pm to 1:30 pm (1038 GMT to 1130 GMT).

Operators on the continent are still working to establish the cause.

‘A cyber attack has not been ruled out and investigations are ongoing,’ one Spanish official said earlier this afternoon.

The head of operations for Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica said ‘we cannot speculate right now on the causes’ of the countrywide blackout, however.

The president of Madrid’s regional government has asked the Spanish government to pave the way for troops to be deployed to help uphold order if required.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso called on the government to ‘activate Plan 3 so that the Army can maintain order if necessary’.

The Level 3 emergency plan, covering ‘national interest’ emergencies, provides special powers for the central government to take control of major issues beyond the scope of Spain’s autonomous provinces.

A view of urban chaos as a widespread power outage strikes Spain and Portugal around midday Monday while the causes are still unknown in Madrid, Spain on April 28, 2025

Portugal’s government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa.

‘It looks like it was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. It’s still being ascertained,’ Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro was quoted as saying.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to ‘a problem with the European electricity system,’ according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilise the network, according to Expresso.

The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime minister’s residence, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited power distributor Red Eléctrica to follow efforts at restoring grid operations.

British holidaymakers stuck in Portugal told MailOnline they were left without power during a padel trip in Vale de Lobo.

Mel Halsall, from Ilkley, West Yorkshire, said: ‘It’s our last day and the only thing we can order in a restaurant is beer and biscuits.’

‘They don’t even have water here, just beer!’ she said.

One of the group, Marie, was celebrating her birthday when the power went offline.

Power has been restored in southwestern France, French high-voltage grid operator RTE said, adding it remained unclear what caused the outage.

‘An electrical incident is currently affecting Spain and Portugal, the cause of which remains to be determined,’ RTE said.

‘In France, homes were without power for several minutes in the Basque Country. All power has since been restored.’

Red Eléctrica warned meanwhile that it could take hours for full functionality to resume in Spain.

Eduardo Prieto, director of services for Red Eléctrica’s operations, said at 2:47pm local time the outage was ‘totally extraordinary’ and would take six to ten hours to repair, per El Pais.

A Police car (R) patrols under switched-off traffic lights during a massive power cut, in Madrid on April 28

A dark metro station in Madrid during the widespread power outage that struck Spain and Portugal around midday on Monday

A police officer gestures to organise traffic with the traffic lights off during the massive power cut, in Madrid

Local residents stand outside a closed bar during a massive power cut in Vigo, northwestern Spain, on April 28, 2025

Customers are faced with powerless food stands in Barcelona

A French operator said this afternoon that they have mobilised resources to help ‘restore’ power to the Spanish network.

A British expat living in Barcelona says that ‘nobody seems to know what’s going on’ in Spain ‘because nobody has signal’.

The English teacher, who spoke to MailOnline on condition of anonymity, said it took ‘about an hour to an hour and a half for people to realise’ what was happening.

‘I can get signal on my rooftop, but I can’t get signal down below. One floor down I have nothing,’ he said.

‘Some of the traffic lights are still working … The underground is not working apparently. Lots of parts of the public transport are not working.’

The 32-year-old said that ‘lots of sirens’ could be heard in the streets as the roads fell into chaos.

He added that the power went offline in Barcelona at 12:34pm local time.

Spain has ‘not ruled out’ the possibility that the outages were caused by a cyber attack, an official briefed on the situation told Politico.

‘At this stage there’s no evidence yet regarding the cause of the massive blackout,’ they told the outlet.

‘A cyber attack has not been ruled out and investigations are ongoing.’

Spain’s state electricity network operator Red Electrica said on X that it had managed to restore power in the north and south of the country.

‘We are starting to recover power for the north and south of the peninsula, key to progressively addressing the electricity supply,’ a post read.

The news came about two hours after the first reports of the outages.

Outages have now been reported as far away as Belgium, Euronews reports.

The extent of the blackouts was not immediately clear.

The Spanish government said this afternoon it was allocating all resources to resolving the power crisis, after major cities were knocked offline by blackouts.

It said it was still working to establish the cause of the outages.

The government has convened a crisis meeting at the offices of Red Electrica, El Pais reports.

Spain’s traffic authority, DGT, meanwhile implored citizens not to use their cars unless absolutely necessary.

A view of a bar after a blackout hit Spain in the city of Toledo, central Spain, 28 April 2025.

A view of Madrid as a widespread power outage struck around midday Monday, with the causes still unknown, in Madrid, Spain on April 28, 2025

Parts of France briefly lost power on Monday, following outages in Spain and Portugal, France’s grid operator RTE said.

A fire in the south-west of the country damaged a high-voltage power line and has been identified as a ‘possible cause’, Euronews reports.

The fire was reported to have occurred on the Alaric mountain, near Narbonne.

Residents of Andorra – between France and Spain – also reported having been hit by the blackout.

Officials in Portugal have warned that outages are affecting the country nationwide.

Portugal’s REN operator said all the Iberian peninsula was affected, as well as part of France.

Passengers have been stranded in the metro in Lisbon, waiting for the grid to restore power.

Some trains are still stuck in the tunnels between stations, Euronews Portugal reports.

People have been asked not to dial 112, the European emergency number for contacting police, ambulance, and fire services, unless in a genuine emergency to avoid overloading lines.

Traffic lights in Madrid have stopped working, posing risk on major carriageways.

Footage showed chaos in the capital, with cars in gridlock on Monday as authorities rushed to restore power.

First pictures show Metro stations in Europe in darkness amid the wide power outage.

Rail above ground is also understood to have been affected.

Spanish railway company Renfe said that all trains have halted and no departures are currently taking place, with a power outage occurring at a ‘national level’.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the power outage sweeping Europe.

Spain, France and Portugal were the first reported to have been hit by an outage on Monday.

The cause of the blackout is as yet unknown, and Spain’s national grid is working to restore power.

E-Redes, a Spanish electricity grid monitoring company, said in a statement it was working on reestablishing connection in phases.

‘This is a wider European problem,’ it added.