#Spain#Portugal#PowerOutage#France#Madrid
Madrid/IBNS-CMEDIA: Spain and Portugal were hit by a major power outage on Monday that hit public transport, caused large traffic congestion and delayed airline flights as utility operators scrambled to restore the grid.
The Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency cabinet meetings after the outage left millions without power, and also affected a part of France bordering northeastern Spain briefly.
Portugal’s utility REN confirmed an electricity cut across the Iberian Peninsula that also affected part of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power.
“All plans for the phased restoration of energy supply are being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators,” a REN spokesperson told the media.
“REN is in permanent contact with official entities, namely the National Civil Protection Authority. At the same time, the possible causes of this incident are being assessed.”
Spanish radio stations said part of the Madrid underground was being evacuated. The power outage caused traffic jams in Madrid city centre as traffic lights stopped working, Cader Ser Radio station reported.
