Power has been out in all of Spain, except the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, since midday, according to El Pais, the blackout also affected Portugal, El Mundo reports that blackouts also occurred in parts of France.
The blackouts lasted from a few minutes to several hours. The governments of Spain and Portugal are investigating the causes of the blackout. The state-owned company Red Elestrisa announced in social networking sites that it has put in place an emergency plan for restoration work and is joining forces with other energy companies.
Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and Lisbon Airport were interrupted due to the failure, and at the time of publication in El Mundo, Seville, Barcelona and Pamplona were without light. In Valencia and Madrid, the metro stopped working. Traffic lights were switched off everywhere. Train traffic was disrupted.
The National Institute of Cyber Security is checking whether the shutdown was not the result of a hacker attack.
The work of the Spanish Stock Exchange (BME) was not affected by the disruption, trading was not interrupted. Individual banks may experience problems conducting transactions for customers, sources told El Pais.
In France, the blackouts affected only Burgundy.
Earlier, electricity prices had fallen below zero in several European countries due to high electricity output from German solar power plants. Electricity prices also fell below zero in the Netherlands and Belgium.
