An electrical system failure has affected the entire Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, and small areas of France. The cause of the outage is unknown at the moment, although Red Eléctrica has reported that the "voltage" is starting to recover in the northern and southern parts of the peninsula.
Meanwhile, the Government is holding a crisis cabinet attended by President Pedro Sánchez, as well as Vice Presidents María Jesús Montero and Sara Aagesen, and Minister of Transport Óscar Puente.
Transportation services have been affected, causing confusion among the population. Metro and Renfe have reported that a general power outage is hindering the normal operation of all their lines, leading to the evacuation of passengers.
Aena has confirmed that "some incidents" are occurring, but airports are operational with contingency electrical systems.
The situation is also causing chaos in traffic, with traffic lights not functioning and drivers unsure of how to proceed. The DGT has issued a statement asking the population to avoid driving as much as possible.
Spanish nuclear power plants are in a pre-alert emergency situation
The operators of Spanish nuclear power plants have notified the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) of the declaration of a pre-alert emergency situation - according to their Internal Emergency Plans (PEI) - due to the loss of external electrical supply. This incident has not impacted workers, the public, or the environment, as reported by the Nuclear Safety Council in a statement.
Given this unforeseen situation (loss of external electrical supply for the entire nuclear park), the reactors of the plants in operation (Almaraz II, Ascó I and II, Vandellós II) have automatically shut down - in accordance with their design - and their diesel emergency generators have started and are maintaining the plants in a safe condition.
Similarly, the diesel generators of the Almaraz I, Cofrentes, and Trillo plants (in a shutdown state prior to this situation) have started as designed and are in a safe condition. The Nuclear Safety Council has activated its Emergency Response Organization (ORE) in mode 1 (monitoring). Additionally, the organization has notified this situation to the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies, the National Security Directorate, and the different Government Sub-delegations of the provinces where the nuclear power plants are located.
Metro Bilbao will take "hours" to restore service
Metro Bilbao has announced that it will take "hours" to restore train circulation since as of three o'clock in the afternoon, they still did not have electricity in their substations. According to sources from the Biscayan subway to EFE, by 3:00 p.m., Metro only had enough energy to illuminate the stations, but not to start the train units.
Once the energy reaches the substations, Metro Bilbao will need "hours," they cannot specify how many, to restart all the equipment for train circulation and ensure safety.
Hospitals halt non-urgent activities to ensure essential care
Hospitals are currently maintaining their essential activities following the widespread blackout that has affected the Iberian Peninsula since 12:30 hours thanks to emergency power systems, and have implemented contingency plans and preemptively postponed their regular activities to prioritize urgent care.
The generators ensure the operation of ICUs and essential equipment such as respirators for hours, although some areas of the centers may have been left without power to conserve energy and reserve all power for urgent care. The Ministry of Health is assessing the extent of the widespread blackout in healthcare centers throughout Spain and has made itself available to the regional health departments in case of any incidents in these centers, as reported through their social media channels.
Thus, normalcy prevails in the public hospitals in Madrid, where regular activities have been suspended but emergency care is being provided without incidents, as conveyed to EFE by sources from the Ministry of Health, similar to the situation in Catalonia.
In Aragon, the regional government is managing to preserve the energy from these emergency generators due to the uncertainty of the duration of the lack of supply. The Health Minister of the Cantabria regional government, César Pascual, has stated that the health situation in the autonomous community is "under control" following the general power outage affecting the entire country this Monday and has asked citizens to contact 112 only in case of emergency.
Red Eléctrica describes the incident as "absolutely exceptional and extraordinary"
Red Eléctrica assures that the blackout affecting the Iberian Peninsula since around 12:30 is an incident that is "absolutely exceptional and extraordinary," attributed to a very strong oscillation in the power flow of networks, of unknown origin, which has caused the disconnection of Spain from the rest of the European electrical system.
When asked if this blackout could be due to a cyberattack, the company's Operations Services director, Eduardo Prieto, mentioned that they cannot "speculate" on its origin.
In Madrid, EMT continues bus service
The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid continues bus service, as reported by Luis Fernando Durán.
Cofrentes nuclear power plant activates the internal emergency plan in pre-alert phase
The Cofrentes nuclear power plant (Valencia) has activated the Internal Emergency Plan in the pre-alert phase following the blackout that occurred this Monday affecting Spain and Portugal, as reported by the Government Delegation in the Valencian Community.
Specifically, at 1:45 p.m. this Monday, phase 0 of said plan was established. The nuclear power plant, as detailed by the Government, has electricity through its own emergency generators for seven days.
Electricity supply begins to reach some areas of Pamplona
The electrical system has started to recover in some areas of Pamplona after the supply was interrupted around 12:30 hours. By 2:45 p.m., some areas of the Navarrese capital have regained power, although it is not yet widespread throughout the city. So far, the Government of Navarra has not reported any serious incidents beyond people trapped in elevators.
Xunta activates the Galicia Emergency Plan to coordinate the emergency
The Xunta has activated the Galicia Emergency Plan at level 1 --involving regional resources-- due to the widespread power outage to coordinate with all Galician administrations and take measures. This was announced by the President of the Galician Government, Alfonso Rueda, in the press conference following the Consello, where he informed that the Minister of Presidency, Justice, and Sports, Diego Calvo, has moved to the facilities of the Galician Public Security Agency in A Estrada to monitor the situation.
Red Eléctrica reports that full power recovery will take between "six and ten hours"
Red Eléctrica estimates that the complete recovery of the Spanish electrical system may take between 6 and 10 hours after the blackout that occurred around 12:30 hours affecting the Iberian Peninsula and Portugal. "We have plans that are meticulously prepared for situations" like this, said the Director of Operations Services of Red Eléctrica, Eduardo Prieto, who acknowledged that this is an "absolutely exceptional" incident.
Banks continue operations although card payments start experiencing issues
The main Spanish banks continue to operate somewhat normally, although some entities have closed branches early and card payments have started experiencing initial problems if terminals run out of battery or lose access to the telephone network.
According to financial sources from some of the major consulted entities, all internal processes and operations continue to function without apparent issues, although some offices have closed earlier than planned due to the inability to serve customers.
The lack of electrical supply in much of Spain has also led to some card payment terminals or point of sale (POS) terminals losing access to the communication network or directly running out of battery without the possibility of recharging due to the blackout.
Government urgently convenes the National Security Council
The Government has urgently convened the National Security Council. Its members, including the Prime Minister, the Chief of the Defense Staff, and the Director of the National Intelligence Center, will meet shortly to analyze the possible origin of the massive power grid failure that has occurred in Spain, as reported by Pablo Herraiz.