Spain and Portugal were beaten by a large blackout on Monday, which stopped daily activity through the two countries, with closed companies along with trains, underground and aerial flights.
The authorities did not say what caused the interruption, which affected dozens of millions of people through the Iberian Peninsula, but several denied any dirty game.
“At this point, there are no indications of any cyber atago,” wrote António Costa, president of the European Council, in a position on X.
Portuguese energy authorities said the interruption occurred after an interruption in the European network, but did not provide details. After a report that a “non -specific atmospheric phenomenon” had caused the interruption, Ren, an electricity supplier and Portuguese gas, strongly denied that was the reason.
“That news is a false news,” said Bruno Silva, a REN spokesman, in a telephone interview. “It is giving us a very, very large headache.”
For Monday afternoon, power was going crazy in many areas.
The National Electric Company of Spain, Red Eléctrica, said that the power had returned to many parts of the country, even in Catalonia, Aragon, El País Basque, Galicia, Asturias, Navarre, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Andalucía.
The interruption also briefly affected France. RTE, the French electricity operator, said in a statement that some homes in the Basque region of the country had briefly lost electricity, but that “all energy has been restored since then.”
Millions of people felt the effects of interruption throughout the Iberian Peninsula, since the authorities activated emergency plans. The senior Spanish officials convince a meeting of the National Security Council on Monday.
Long lines began to train ATMs. There were broad extension problems to connect to the Internet and telephone networks in Spain and Portugal.
“Due to the power cut, we ask you to avoid conducting as much as possible,” the Spanish traffic authority wrote to a publication about X. “The power cut prevents traffic lights and road signals from working.”
The main institutions entered the crisis management fashion. The hospitals in Spain were forced to postulate with generators. Portuguese banks and schools closed. The games for the Madrid tennis tournament were suspended, said the ATP tour.
The train trip was interrupted through Spain. Renfe, the National Rail Company of Spain, wrote in an X publication that “at 12:30 pm, all the national electricity grid was cut,” and added that the trains had stopped working at all stations. The subway also stopped in several cities, including Valencia and Madrid.
Later, the country’s minister of transport, Oscar Puente, said in X that the railroads would remain closed all day.
Joe Meert, a professor at the University of Florida, had spent much of the day with his wife, Michelle, on a train that stopped salsa in a rural area on the track somehow between Madrid and Valencia. After three hours, he said, the dining cart was due to only bear and some soft drinks.
“We are without water,” said Meert, 67, in a telephone interview, while watching some riders get out of the train and walk towards a tractor where a farmer delivered water. The train staff walked from one car to another delivering news, since the speaker no longer worked, he said.
Some flights were also delayed, Aena, Thiches handles many Spanish airports, wrote in an X publication.
Easyjet, the airline, told passengers on Monday morning that “Spanish airports are currently experiencing continuous power cuts that affect multiple essential systems and airport infrastructure.” The airline said he expected delays and described the interruptions as “extraordinary and out of our control.”
Millions of people throughout the region tried to deal with the interruptions, while they still had a daylight.
In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, people began running to groceries to fill water and dry products. Many had no luck: some important grocery stores were closed on Monday afternoon. The smallest groceries fought to fill in shelves that emptied quickly. In some counters, employees were counting hand tickets using paper and pencil, since electronic scanners and cash boxes no longer worked.
“It’s like when I was young, 50 years ago,” said Francisco García, 61, a boat restorer who lives in the ancient part of Lisbon.
During the first 30 minutes, Mr. Garcia was able to get access to news updates on his phone. Since then, the news sites have crashed, he said, leaving him in the middle of the city in crisis without information.
“We are in a total blackout,” he said, “it is a reminder or how dependent we are on the side of things or in our own control.”
In Peniche, a small coastal city about 50 miles north of Lisbon, just a grocery store was still open on Monday afternoon. Boxes of people waited to each cashier in front.
In another part of the city, André Lima, 33, waited at an ATM, along with 50 other people. Mr. Lima, who works in a medical care complex for the elderly, said he was worried about the oxygen supply for some residents.
“There are people whose life depends on energy supply,” he said.
In Murcia, a city in South Government Spain, the signs of the cross crossings and the traffic lights darkened, thought that some still drove the cars carefully through the streets.
Teresa García, 92, sat in a wheelchair off her home at lunchtime. He was waiting for power to return so that the elevator could take her back to his department, he said.
In the chapel of the Santiago Abstol, a small group of parishioners had gathered in the dark church, and the candles of the altar were illuminated by people who prayed by those affected by the blackout, including “all those trapped in elevators.”
People seemed to adapt mainly to interruption. Some had picnics in the park. The restaurant terraces were full. And while the midday sunlight still shone intensely, the interior flamenco classes continued, while people practiced in the light that flowed from the windows.
Catherine Porter” Azam Ahmed and Nazaneen Ghaffar Contributed reports.
