“The causes are being analyzed, and all resources are being dedicated to resolving it,” the operator said.
According to Expresso, Portugal’s E-Redes operator said the blackout was due to a “problem in the European power grid.” Portuguese grid operators added that data collected following the blackout suggested a voltage imbalance was responsible for the collapse.
Spain and Portugal have a highly integrated energy grid that operates as an energy island and is linked to the rest of Europe through a small number of cross-border interconnections with France.
Traffic lights blinked off and metro systems ground to a halt across Spain and Portugal as the flow of power was abruptly cut around 12:30 p.m. Although both countries’ hospitals are equipped with generators, authorities indicated that staff had been asked to turn off computers and take other steps to conserve power because it’s unknown how long the blackout could last.
“A crisis committee has been set up to manage the situation [in Spain]. At this stage there’s no evidence yet regarding the cause of the massive blackout. A cyberattack has not been ruled out and investigations are ongoing,” an official briefed on the situation in Spain said.
The European Commission has for years called for greater integration of the countries’ energy systems, but while Madrid, Lisbon and Paris have repeatedly signaled their will to move forward with that plan, advances have been slow to come.