Home Huge power cut causes chaos in Spain and Portugal as trains, traffic lights, and payments hit

Huge power cut causes chaos in Spain and Portugal as trains, traffic lights, and payments hit

· April 28, 2025 · 0 Comment
  2. Barbara Tasch
  3. Live reporter
  4. I’ve been speaking to Kirsty, a teacher in Madrid, who tells me that she – and many others – “don’t know anything” about why the power in the city has gone out.
  5. She says there have been mixed reports from Spanish media about the extent of the power cuts and no official communication from the government.
  6. Kirsty, who teaches in an international school just outside the Spanish capital, says teachers at her school are now “wondering how we’ll get home” following reports of traffic jams due to lights not working.
  7. She also says pupils at her school are aware there’s a blackout but don’t know the extent of it as they can’t access 5G on school premises and don’t have access to Wi-Fi.
  8. Kirsty says that the outage began affecting her school and the area it’s in around 12:45 local time (11:45 BST), but “luckily” lunches had already been cooked for the children.
  9. “There’s zero electricity,” she says, adding that there have been surges – meaning power has come back on – but only for a few seconds each time, nothing permanent.
  12. We’ve just had this picture of queues at cash points in Lisbon, where card payments are not being accepted due to the power outage.
  13. “It’s crazy, we were trying to pay for our brunch and it all shut down,” says Emily Lansdown, who’s in the city. “We’ve been trying to get a taxi to the beach because all the trains are down.”
  14. Image source, Emily Lansdown
  17. We’re beginning to see the first images showing the effects of the power outage in Spain and Portugal.
  18. In one, a chef uses his phone’s torch to continue working, while a metro station in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon can be seen shuttered.
  19. Meanwhile, people at the Madrid Open can be seen leaving the tournament in darkness. We reported earlier that play had been suspended due to the power issues.
  20. Image source, Reuters
  21. Image caption,
  22. A chef uses a torch to continue working at a restaurant in Madrid
  23. Image source, Reuters
  24. Image caption,
  25. Spectators at the Madrid Open are forced to leave under a veil of darkness
  26. Image source, Reuters
  27. Image caption,
  28. A closed metro station in Lisbon
  31. Guy Hedgecoe
  32. Reporting from Madrid
  33. The power outage began soon after midday Spanish time and it appears to have affected cities across the country, although the Balearic and Canary Islands do not appear to have been affected.
  34. Mainland Portugal and Andorra also saw a similar blackout.
  35. Public transport has been disrupted, with passengers evacuated from trains and traffic lights also affected.
  36. In Madrid, many businesses, shops and restaurants were plunged into darkness. Internet service was also affected.
  37. Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica has said it is working with energy companies to restore power.
  40. In an update, Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica says it’s beginning to recover power in the north and south of the country.
  41. It says this is “key to gradually restoring the electricity supply”.
  42. “We continue working to restore power,” it adds.
  43. Earlier, the company confirmed the outages and said all its resources were being dedicated to solving the issue.
  46. We’re beginning to hear how the outage has affected Portugal, too.
  47. According to the Reuters news agency, Portuguese police say traffic lights are affected across the country, the metro is closed in capital city Lisbon as well as Porto, and trains are not running.
  50. Have you been affected by the power cuts in Spain and Portugal? Share your experiences:
  51. In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.
  54. Play has been suspended at the Madrid Open – an annual clay tennis tournament – due to the power outage currently affecting the Spanish capital and surrounding region.
  55. British tennis player Jacob Fearnley was forced to leave the court, PA media reports.
  56. The loss of power affected scoreboards and a camera above the court, it adds.
  57. Image source, Reuters
  58. Image caption,
  59. One of the courts was left almost entirely empty after the power outage forced play to be suspended
  62. Spain’s national railway company, Renfe, says the country’s “entire National Electricity Grid was cut off” at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST).
  63. “Trains stopped” and were “without departures” at all stations, the company says.
  66. Spain’s electricity grid operator Red Electrica has confirmed power outages across the country.
  67. It is working to restore electricity supplies and says it’s working to analyse the causes of the blackouts.
  68. “All resources are being dedicated to solving it,” it says in a post on X.
  71. A huge power outage seems to be affecting swathes of Spain and Portugal.
  72. Local reports say there are traffic jams in the centre of the Spanish capital, Madrid, due to traffic lights not working.
  73. Information is coming through thick and fast, and we’ll bring you the latest as and when we get it. Stay with us.

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