Much Of Spain And Portugal Go Dark In Unprecedented Power Outage
HuffPost
The outage sparked chaos by knocking out subway networks, traffic signals and ATM machines.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday, halting subway and railway trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATM machines for the 50 million people who live across the Iberian Peninsula.
Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said that restoring power fully to the country and neighboring Portugal could take 6-10 hours. By mid-afternoon, voltage was progressively being restored in the north, south and west of the peninsula, the company said.
The company declined to speculate on the causes of the huge blackout. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event “exceptional and extraordinary.”
Spanish And Portuguese Capital Cities Affected
