A sweeping power outage has plunged vast swathes of Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France into chaos, in what authorities are calling one of the most severe electrical disruptions in the region in years.
Major cities including Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, and Marseille were affected, with millions left without electricity or internet access. The outage struck suddenly on Monday morning, causing widespread traffic gridlock as traffic lights failed and public transportation systems ground to a halt. Authorities were forced to deploy emergency personnel to manage the disruption and direct traffic manually in urban centers.
In Spain and Portugal, hospitals were hit especially hard. Several facilities reported disruptions to their critical systems, with some postponing or cancelling all non-emergency surgeries for the day as a precaution. Backup generators were activated at most hospitals, but officials stressed the strain on healthcare operations remained high.
The source of the outage has not yet been officially confirmed, but early reports suggest a failure in a major transnational power transmission line may have triggered a cascading effect across multiple grids. Investigations are underway.
Emergency protocols have been activated across all three countries, with national energy agencies and grid operators working through the day to restore power. By late afternoon, partial restoration had been reported in central Madrid and northern Portugal, though full service remains disrupted in many areas.
France’s energy ministry issued a statement urging calm, while confirming that the outage affected parts of the southern regions of Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. French authorities are coordinating closely with Iberian counterparts to determine the cause and restore stability to the interconnected grid.
Social media has been flooded with images of darkened streets, stranded trains, and crowded gas stations. Several airports also reported brief delays as backup systems were brought online.
Authorities have not ruled out sabotage or cyberattack, but officials emphasized that it is too early to draw conclusions. Security services across the affected countries remain on high alert.
This developing story will be updated as more information becomes available.
