Spain and Portugal hit by massive power outage

A massive power outage has affected Spain and Portugal, shutting down airports, businesses and railway stations.

All of Spain – except the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands – has suffered a blackout, with Portugal and parts of France also reportedly impacted.

Spain's national railway company, Renfe, has said the country's "entire National Electricity Grid was cut off”. 

Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said in a post on X there is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the blackout and that parts of the north and south of Spain have begun “to recover voltage”.

The country’s national cybersecurity centre is also looking into whether cybercriminals are behind the incident.

Cristina Barbera, a 31-year-old who lives in Madrid told Holyrood: “I prefer not to stop and think about it too much, but this could be a wake-up call about all that’s going on in the world”.

Nuria Navarro, who works at a local school, also in Madrid, admitted it was “a bit scary” but that everything has now “calmed” down.

“The first 20 minutes were a bit chaotic; parents were rushing to pick their kids up”, she said. 

Red Electrica estimates it will take six to 10 hours for the entire grid to operate again. 

More to follow…