Power began returning to parts of Spain and Portugal late on Monday after a massive blackout paralysed both countries, grounding flights, halting public transport, and suspending hospital operations.
Spain’s Interior Ministry declared a national emergency for regions requesting assistance, including Madrid, Andalusia, and Extremadura. Portugal also convened an emergency cabinet meeting.
The outage, which began around 1033 GMT, triggered chaos in cities, disrupted traffic, and left some metro systems evacuated.
Officials said the cause remains unclear, with no indication of a cyberattack. Portugal’s grid operator REN cited a possible "large oscillation" in Spain’s electrical system that spread to Portugal.
By late evening, electricity was partially restored in Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, and other areas. Priority was given to hospitals and transport networks.
Both Spain and Portugal suffered heavy economic disruption, with businesses shuttered, refineries halted, and airports paralysed.
Parts of southern France also experienced brief outages.
Investigations are ongoing.
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