Power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people

An unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday stopping trains cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian PeninsulaSpanish power distributor Red Electrica declined to speculate on the cause of the power outage that began around 1230 pm Madrid time and said restoring power fully could take six to 10 hours Head of operations Eduardo Prieto told journalists it was unprecedented calling the event exceptional and extraordinary By 835 pm only 35 per cent of energy demand had been restored Prieto said hours laterSpains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said a strong oscillation in the European grid was behind the outage but the cause was still being determined He asked the public to refrain from speculation and urged people to call emergency services only if really necessary It was the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the UK and it came as authorities across Europe gird against sabotage backed by RussiaThe Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center in a statement said there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack Teresa Ribera European Commission executive vice president in charge of promoting clean energy indicated the same to journalists in Brussels and called the power outage one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent timesSpanish and Portuguese capitals affectedThe outage began after midday Offices closed and traffic was snarled in major cities In Barcelona civilians directed traffic Train services in both countries stopped leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded It wouldnt be possible to restart trains later on Monday even if the power returned Spains Transportation Minister Oscar Puente posted on social mediaThe subway systems shut down I dont know how I am going to get home said Barcelona resident Ivette Corona In Madrid hundreds of people at a bus stop that takes travellers to the airport were trying to hitchhike Ive been here for almost three hours trying to get someone to take me to the airport because my family arrived today and I cant talk to them This is terrifying said Jessica Fernandez one of the many people at the bus stopHospitals and other emergency services switched to generators Among those most affected were homebound patients dependent on oxygen machines Gas stations stopped working It was not possible to make calls or send text messages on most mobile phone networks though some people managed to connect on certain messaging apps with intermittent data connectionsIt is rare to have such a widespread outage across the Iberian Peninsula with a combined population of about 60 million people Spains Canary Islands Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla located across the Mediterranean in Africa were not affectedSpains prime minister convened an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council Four regions of Spain declared an emergency and asked the central government in Madrid to take over management of the crisis The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime ministers residence Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he had spoken several times to Sanchez and expected power to be restored by the end of the dayPortugals government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country an official told national news agency Lusa Electricity was being pulled from Morocco and France to restore power to southern and northern Spain Spains prime minister said thanking their governments Spain was also increasing the production from hydroelectric and combined cycle thermal power plantsAirports working on backup systemsA graph on Spains electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 1230 pm from 27500 megawatts to near 15000 megawatts Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems and some flights were delayed according to Aena which runs 56 airports in Spain including Madrid and BarcelonaIn Lisbon terminals closed and tourists sat outside waiting for news about flights The Spanish Parliament in Madrid closed Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended Some took advantage of the lack of connectivity to enjoy the sunshine on restaurant terraces parks and beaches Barcelonas streets filled with throngs of people milling in front of darkened stores and exchanginginformationThe hunt for connectivityAs hours passed so did the concern of those unable to reach loved ones Authorities in Barcelona have set up shelters for those unable to return home to spend the night Ruben Elvira his wife and two daughters joked with friends on parting that they would have to write letters to communicateIn Terrassa an industrial town 50 kilometres from Barcelona stores selling generators were out of stock Portugals National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said backup power systems were operatingIn Portugal a country of some 106 million people police placed more officers on duty to cope with increased requests for help including from people trapped in elevators Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated reports said Courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affectedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params