西班牙和葡萄牙遭遇大规模停电，造成广泛中断。西班牙电网运营商Red Eléctrica一位高级主管估计，恢复西班牙全境电力供应可能需要6到10个小时，称其为前所未有的事件。葡萄牙电网运营商无法预测电力何时恢复。 交通运输受到严重影响，铁路服务暂停，机场一片混乱。马德里地铁乘客被疏散，自动取款机无法使用。许多商店被迫关闭。停电还影响到弱势群体，他们获得食物、饮用水和交通工具的途径有限。 欧盟委员会正在与西班牙和葡萄牙当局联系，提供支持并监测事态发展。一位欧盟高级专员表示，没有证据表明此次停电是人为造成的。紧急内阁会议正在召开，欧洲理事会主席安东尼奥·科斯塔正在与两国总理联系。正在对停电原因进行调查，当局正集中精力解决停电问题。
Multiple Spanish media are carrying quotes from a senior director at Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica saying it could take “between six and ten” hours to restore energy across the country, as he calls it an unprecedented incident.
Eduardo Prieto, director of operations at Red Eléctrica, declined to comment on the causes of the outage.
Key events
'Impossible' to say when electricity will be restored in Portugal, operator says
European Commission's von der Leyen offers EU's support to Spain in call with Sánchez
No evidence outage was caused by deliberate act, senior EU commissioner says
'Six to ten hours' to restore energy in Spain,' official says
European Commission in contact with Spain, Portugal over power outages
Your experiences of blackout in Spain, Portugal
Blackout in Spain, Portugal - in pictures
Spanish blackout in charts - visual
Affected by Spain, Portugal blackouts? Email the blog
Spanish government investigates origins, 'all resources' focused on solving blackout
Spanish, Portugese governments to convene emergency cabinet meetings - media
Blackout in Spain, Portugal - in pictures
Air traffic in Spain, Portugal affected by outages - Flightradar
Russia declares surprise three-day ceasefire in Ukraine around Victory Day anniversary
Madrid residents hit by energy disruptions
Major disruptions across cities, transport systems in Spain, Portugal - reports
Vatican confirms Conclave to begin on 7 May
Spain, Portugal report major electricity disruptions
Greenland ready for strong partnership with US, but 'never piece of property that can be bought,' prime minister says
Conclave to elect new pope to begin on 7 May - Reuters
Sistine Chapel to be closed from today 'for requirements of Conclave'
No date for Trump-von der Leyen meeting, EU spokesperson says
EU welcomes Trump's comments acknowledging Russia's attacks, says North Korean backing shows Russia's desperation
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Vatican expected to set timeline for pope election
Russia 'ready' for talks, but demands recognition of occupied territories
Pro-Ukraine politician picked to lead German diplomacy in Merz's government
Morning opening: What's next for Ukraine?
The Portuguese grid operator Redes Energéticas Nacionais, or REN, said it is still impossible to know how long Portugal will be without power after a massive blackout that also affected Spain and parts of France.
“At this time it is still impossible to predict when the situation will be normalised,” operator said in a statement, adding it had “all resources deployed” to resolve the blackout, AFP reported.
Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager Adif urged passengers not to come to train stations or attempt travelling, as rail services remain suspended.
Various portuguese media, including Público, are reporting that a televised debate between the country’s prime minister Luís Montenegro and his rival Pedro Nuno Santos ahead of next month’s parliamentary election has been postponed as a result of the disruption.
Let’s bring in more of your stories of how you’re dealing with the blackout in Spain and Portugal.
Todd emailed in the last few minutes saying that his area in Barcelona, Spain just saw power restored. He earlier said he was inside a local shopping centre when the power went out, with many customers still shopping until they were told to leave the building.
“Everyone seemed to be taking it in stride. We’re back in our hotel. … Like everyone else, we’re just waiting it out,” he said.
Victor messaged me about his tricky trip to Barcelona airport, where he was held on a train for 40 minutes, before being told to “get off the train and walk along the tracks for 5 km … to reach the nearest station.”
“There were people crying and with panic attacks. It’s been total chaos,” he says.
Lots of others also describing your tricky experiences at airports, including Pia, Stephen, Mandy, Bernardo, and Paul. Hope you all get safely to where you need to be soon.
Gabrielle writes in from Porto, Portugal, as she says that there is still no power and she cannot get any money from ATM or any food or drink, and she is locked out of her room as it’s got an electronic lock.
“I’m travelling in Portuguese trains tomorrow so hopefully resolved by then,” she ends on a positive note.
Emma is a student in Valencia, and she says the power went out just after she had got off a job interview. “I am just thankful that the power grid was nice enough to let me finish my successful attempt at job hunting!” she says. Fingers crossed, Emma!
“I luckily managed to find some matches and candles to light up in case this continues throughout the night. Despite all of this I am lucky and thankful that I didn’t get stuck on the metro or an elevator like so many people out there right now,” she adds.
Annabel also expressed concern over vulnerable groups with limited access to food, drinks and transport during the outage.
She makes a strong point:
They don’t drive and public transport is either stopped (trams) or gridlocked. They cant go to the cafe as most use card machines to pay or cash but the bank machines arent working. They are literally stuck on the street not knowing what to do. So. its really nothing to laugh about. … A nightmare not siesta time.
Sarah emailed about her stressful experience of the outage at a Seville hospital; hope it all goes well for you and your daughter!
If you are in Spain or Portugal, you can send me your stories to [email protected].
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post that she spoke with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez this afternoon about the power outage affecting the Iberian peninsula.
She said the commision was helping with “monitoring the situation with national and European authorities and our Electricity Coordination Group.”
“We will coordinate efforts and share information to help restore the electricity system, and agreed to stay in close contact,” she added.
Senior European Commission vice-president Teresa Ribera told the Spanish Radio 5 that there is no evidence at this stage that the outage is the result of a deliberate act, such as sabotage or a cyber-attack.
Just spoke to an officer guarding a metro station in Madrid – he said that when the power went out, the metro came to a dead stop and people had to be pulled out of the wagons. It was quickly emptied of people, they said, and remains completely closed off and empty.
ATMs are still down, and officers are directing traffic as lights remain out and waves of people mill the streets.
Clothing giant Zara’s flagship store has closed their doors, others are allowing people to peruse in the dark. Hotels have kept their doors open to their darkened lobbied as tourists continue to stream in from across the city.
Let’s go to Ashifa to hear the latest from the streets of Madrid.
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and newspaper El País report a meeting of the Spanish national security council was due to start at 3pm local time, as per government sources.
Portuguese daily newspaper Público has reported that European Council president António Costa is in contact with Spanish and Portuguese prime ministers over the blackout affecting the Iberian peninsula, according to the paper’s European sources.
Costa, a former Portuguese prime minister between 2015 and 2024, is on an official visit to Bulgaria today.
We should hear from him in the coming hours, according to the Europe by Satellite service’s schedule. He is scheduled to take part in a press conference with Bulgarian prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
Multiple Spanish media are carrying quotes from a senior director at Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica saying it could take “between six and ten” hours to restore energy across the country, as he calls it an unprecedented incident.
Eduardo Prieto, director of operations at Red Eléctrica, declined to comment on the causes of the outage.
The European Commission has said it is in contact with national authorities in Spain and Portugal over the massive power outages.
It is also in touch with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).
“The Commission is in contact with the national authorities of Spain and Portugal as well as ENTSO-E to understand the underlying cause and the impact of the situation.
The Commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange amongst all relevant parties.
As per EU legislation in place (emergency and restoration network code), there are protocols in place to restore the functioning of the system.”
I’m also picking up a lot of understandable concern as to the cause of the outage in your emails, but we are obviously steering clear of any speculation on this.
We will bring you updates on this when we get it from official sources.