Spanish electricity distributor Red Eléctrica said it could take 6-10 hours to restore power in much of the country.
The company refused to speculate on the cause of the huge power outage. The National Cybersecurity Centre in Portugal issued a statement saying there was no indication that it was caused by a cyber attack.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, told reporters that this was unprecedented, calling the event “excellent and extraordinary”.
Interruptions in Spain and Portugal include their capitals Madrid and Lisbon. When traffic lights stopped working, the office closed and traffic was roared. Although some apps are working, it is impossible to make calls on some mobile networks.
The total population of these countries exceeds 50 million. It is not clear how many affected are. Such widespread disruptions are rare on the Iberian Peninsula.
Authorities say the reason is not immediately known, although a Portuguese official said the problem appears to be on Spain’s electricity distribution network.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened an extraordinary meeting of the Spanish National Security Council and visited Red Eléctrica to follow efforts to restore grid operations.
The Portuguese cabinet held an emergency meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence.
An official told the National News Agency that the Portuguese government said the power outage appears to be due to problems outside the country.
“Obviously in Spain, this seems to be a problem with the distribution network,” said Cabinet Secretary Leitão Amaro.
Portuguese newspaper Expresso said Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the power outage was due to “an issue with European power systems.” According to Expresso, the company said it was forced to cut power in specific areas to stabilize the network.
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE said that after noon local time, a massive power outage hit several parts of the country, its newsroom, Spain’s parliament in Madrid and subway stations across the country were in the dark.
A graph displayed on the Spanish Electric Power website shows that national demand shows a drop from 27,500 MW to around 15,000 MW at around 12:15 p.m.
The company, which operates 56 airports in Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona, ​​said the Spanish airports were operating backup electrical systems and some flights were delayed.
In Lisbon, the terminal is closed, with a group of tourists sitting outside in the sun, shadows awaiting news about the flight.
“We didn’t see any planes arrive or leave within the 50 minutes we were waiting here,” Dutch traveler Marc Brandsma told the Associated Press.
Train services in both countries have been stopped. Videos aired on Spanish TV show people evacuated the metro station in Madrid and stopped trains in Barcelona.
Madrid’s Spanish parliament is closed and the match is suspended in Madrid Open tennis matches. Three games are being played when the power is lowered.
Spain’s transportation department requires citizens to avoid using as many cars as possible due to power outages, which affects traffic lights and electrical road signs.
Barcelona’s streets were filled with crowds on the sidewalk, surfing around in front of dark shops and offices, and exchanging information about what was going on.
The immediate concern is at least which phone companies have at least some coverage, or where to find internet access. Another question is how to close the subway and fill the public bus home.
In Terrassa, an industrial town of 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Barcelona, ​​stores selling generators were out of power after people lined up to buy.
In Portugal, a country with about 10.6 million people, disrupted attacks on Lisbon and surrounding areas, as well as the northern and southern regions. The Portuguese police have put more and more officials in charge of directing traffic and coping with more requests for help, including those trapped in the elevator.
Portuguese hospitals and other emergency services turn to generators. The gas station stopped working.
The Portuguese National Emergency and Civil Protection Agency said the backup power system is in operation.
Several Lisbon metro vehicles were evacuated, the report said. Also in Portugal, the courts stopped working and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected.
