2. Raphael Sheridan
3. Reporting from Malaga
4. Image source, Raphael Sheridan/BBC
5. I’m currently in staying in an apartment in Malaga – some bars and restaurants here have stayed open here benefitting from the glorious weather.
6. At 15.43 local time (14.43 BST), the apartment’s oven and washing machine suddenly started chirping, and a man on the street below me whooped.
7. Power has, it seems, returned to Malaga.
8. For about an hour I had been without phone service or internet – and therefore completely cut-off from the world – which leant an uneasiness to an otherwise sunny, peaceful day.
9. The hope here is that the lights now stay on.
12. French grid operator RTE is helping supply Spain’s electrical network, it says.
13. RTE says it has already re-supplied 700 MW of Spanish consumption and it will increase aid as soon as the Iberian grid can receive it.
14. There is no current impact in France, the company says, adding that all power has been restored to homes in the French Basque Country that were left without power earlier today.
15. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko says, external his country is “ready to assist in restoring the stable operation” of Europe’s energy networks and will share “knowledge and experience”.
18. Guy Hedgecoe
19. Madrid correspondent
20. I was on a train in Madrid at Chamartín station, one of the main stations in the city, when the outage happened.
21. A member of staff came on the train and told us to get off the train and evacuate the station. There’s a huge crowd of people outside at the moment.
22. We know other rail services around the country have been affected – underground rails have been heavily hit.
23. Traffic lights also seem to be affected, certainly in the bigger cities, so this all creates a certain amount of chaos.
24. People are desperate to find out if they can get back on their trains, if there’s going to be any service later today – there’s just a great deal of uncertainty.
27. James Kelly
28. BBC News
29. Image source, Tom McGilloway
30. Tom McGilloway, 31, is on holiday in Lisbon visiting members of his partner’s family.
31. They are due to return home to London tonight but are not clear whether their flight will be affected.
32. “It’s a strange vibe because everyone’s aware there is chaos and you can’t get public transport, no one knows what’s going on at the airport,” he tells me this afternoon.
33. “A lot of the restaurants and the shops can’t take payments because they have wired terminals, so it’s meant that everyone’s flooded out of main areas to a lot of the pop-up vendors.”
34. He says for the time being people are getting drinks and food – but vendors have told him they will only be able to keep working until the batteries run out on their payment terminals.
35. “If I need to book a hotel if the plane is cancelled, I don’t know how I can do it if payments are down,” he adds.
36. “My partner’s parents are trying to get petrol so they can pick us up to take us back to Alentejo but many petrol stations are closed or not taking payment. We might be stuck with no plan for where to stay tonight.”
39. 
40. “Power outages in Portugal and Spain are impacting access to some airports and affecting some airports operations including Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona,” easyJet says in a statement.
41. “Like all airlines, we are experiencing some disruption to our flying programme meaning that some return flights from Lisbon and Madrid have been unable to operate,” the airline goes on, adding: “Our flying programme at Porto and Faro airports is operating as planned.”
42. The flight operator tells passengers to check local travel advice and their flight tracker for more information.
43. They also say passengers in Spain or Portugal who are unable to travel are being provided with free of charge transfers within 72 hours, or a flight voucher.
46. Image source, Getty Images
47. In an update, Spain’s power company says voltage has been restored in certain substations in areas of the north, south and west of the country.
48. “We continue to work with all resources to achieve the restoration of supply as soon as possible throughout the entire territory,” Red Electrica says.
49. But in an update of its own, Spain’s national railway firm Renfe says all services are still suspended “due to power outages”.
50. Meanwhile, Madrid Metro service says all its lines also remain closed.
53. We’re now hearing from Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, who says there are no indications that today’s power outage has been caused by a cyber attack at this point.
54. Costa says he is in touch with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese PM Luís Montenegro – with grid operators in both countries “working on finding the cause, and on restoring the electricity supply”.
57. The European Commission says it is “in contact” with Spanish and Portuguese authorities “to understand the underlying cause” of today’s blackout.
58. “The commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange,” a spokesperson for the EU’s executive arm says.
59. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also been in touch with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. European authorities will “coordinate efforts and share information to help restore the electricity system”, von der Leyen writes on social media.
60. Antonio Costa, a former Portuguese premier who heads the European Council of EU member states, is also in contact with the Spanish and Portuguese leaders, EU officials add.
61. Image source, Getty Images
62. Image caption,
63. Images of metro stations in darkness are circulating online
66. Some final remarks from Portugal’s power firm REN, which goes on on to say that, “due to the complexity of the phenomenon and the need to rebalance electricity flows internationally, it is estimated that full normalisation of the network could take up to a week”.
67. Earlier, the head of Spain’s electricity network said that restoring power could take between six and 10 hours.
70. We have a bit more for you now from the Portuguese energy company REN (Rede Eletrica Nacional).
71. It says that “due to extreme temperature variations in the interior or Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 KV), a phenomenon known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration'”.
72. “These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network.”
73. As we said in our last post, Spain is yet to respond to these claims.
76. We’re now hearing from Portugal’s grid operator, REN, which says interruptions to the country’s power supply were the result of a “fault in the Spanish electricity grid.
77. They say this was related to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”, but don’t clarify what that means.
78. Spain is yet to respond to the claim.
79. We’ll bring you more on this in our next few posts.
82. Holly Wallis
83. Live reporter
84. Will David, 40, a Briton living in Lisbon, says he was having a haircut and beard trim in the basement of a barbers in Lisbon when the power went down.
85. “Customers needing electric razors had to leave in various states of haircut and shave completion,” says Will.
86. Rita, the barber, kindly found him a spot by the window upstairs to finish the cut with scissors and left Will looking “halfway presentable”.
87. “The walk home felt very strange, both with the lack of traffic lights meaning a complete free-for-all for vehicles and pedestrians on the roads – as well as so many people milling around outside their places of work with nothing to do.”
88. Image source, Getty Images
89. Image caption,
90. People queuing for a bus in Lisbon earlier – trains and trams went down in the power cuts
93. Josh Parry
94. LGBT and identity reporter
95. Curtis Gladden, 29, is originally from Liverpool but recently moved to in La Vall D’Uixo, about 30 miles from Valencia.
96. He tells BBC News his phone signal hadn’t worked for around two hours, which he says was “scary” as he struggled to get updates about what was happening.
97. Now the signal has returned, he and other locals are using the time without electricity to get outside and enjoy a drink in the town’s pavement cafes.
98. It’s a local holiday in some parts of Spain, known as Saint Vincent Ferrer’s day.
99. Curtis and his partner Miguel were hoping to join in the festivities but say they are “uncertain” whether they’ll take place.
100. He says: “Nothing is working; we came to get some food and a drink but they can’t cook without electricity. There’s supposed to be a festival today but we’re not sure if it will happen now.”
101. 
102. Image caption,
103. Residents in La Vall D’Uixo are taking the chance to have a drink outside during the power outage
106. Molly Stazicker
107. Transport reporter
108. Image source, Reuters
109. In our last post, we brought you an update from some of the affected airports across Spain and Portugal.
110. Now Gatwick, in London, has also reported issues – telling the BBC it’s experiencing short delays on flights to Spain and Portugal.
111. The airport says there have so far been no cancellations and it’s waiting for the issues to be resolved.
112. Meanwhile, airline Ryanair says it’s monitoring potential disruptions to flights operating to and from all airports in mainland Spain and Portugal.
115. Let’s have a quick look now at the situation at airports.
116. Madrid’s international airport – Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas – and Barcelona’s Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Pratairport currently have notices saying “some incidents are occurring” as a result of the outage. The airports add that contingency generators are active, but warn anyone travelling to check with airlines as disruptions may affect access and ground transportation.
117. Lisbon and Porto airports similarly warn that “operation constraints” may occur.
118. Portuguese news agency Lusa is reporting that airport operator Ana has activated emergency generators – enabling essential operations to continue in Porto and Faro, but Lisbon is seeing further limitations.
119. Looking at departure boards, airports including Madrid, Barcelona and Porto are seeing delays.
122. Bernadette McCague
123. BBC News
124. Emily Thorowgood, who’s from Bristol but who works as a teacher in an international school in Lisbon, has told the BBC she is currently “teaching in the dark” after the power went off at around noon local time.
125. “Lots of parents are taking their children out due to the power cuts,” she says.
126. “It was flashing on and off for a long while but seems to have finally given up.”
127. Image source, Getty Images
128. Image caption,
129. A queue at a cash machine in Lisbon earlier – card payments are down across the city
132. Bernadette McCague
133. BBC News
134. Image source, EPA
135. Image caption,
136. A closed pump in Castellon, north-east Spain
137. Lesley has lived in Spain for 11 years with her husband. The couple are currently based in Murcia, Spain.
138. “There’s very little news about what’s happened,” she tells the BBC.
139. “We are worried about food, water, cash and petrol in case this goes on for a couple of days.”
140. She says there’s “more to worry about” than the Madrid Open tennis tournament being suspended.
141. “My husband is driving around now trying to find a petrol station that’s open to get petrol for the generator so that we can plug in the fridge.”
144. Image source, EPA
145. Pedro Sanchez is currently hosting an “extraordinary” meeting of Spain’s national security council, the prime minister’s press office says in a statement on social media, external.
146. We’re yet to hear an update from the meeting, but when we do we’ll let you know.
149. James Kelly
150. BBC News
151. In the Spanish resort of Benidorm, Mark England tells us how the lack of power has disrupted his holiday.
152. He says he and his partner Jonnie had gone for lunch when the lights in the dining room started to go off.
153. “Then everything went off and the fire alarm started going off and the fire doors started closing,” he tells the BBC.
154. “There’s still no power. We’re walking down the main street now and the majority of shops are in darkness and shuttered up or have people on the entrances saying you can’t come in.
155. “There’s no cash machines, no traffic lights so it’s strange. It’s kind of bizarre.”
156. Worst of all, at a holiday destination like Benidorm, Mark says bars are unable to serve drinks because of a lack of power to their pumps.
157. “If you haven’t got a drink, you are out of luck,” he says.
158. 
159. Image caption,
160. Mark England (left) has had his holiday in Benidorm disrupted by the power cut
163. The head of Spain’s electricity grid says restoring power could take hours.
164. Speaking at a news conference, Red Electrica CEO Eduardo Prieto tells reporters that the operation to solve the issue could take “between six and ten hours”.
165. We’ll bring you more on this as soon as we get it.

Page 2

2. Parts of France temporarily lost power following the outages in Spain and Portugal, Reuters news agency reports, citing French grid operator RTE.
3. A spokeswoman for RTE gives no further detail on the extent of the outage, but says that power has now resumed after the brief interruption.
6. We’re seeing some reports about Portuguese electricity distribution network, E-Redes, working on re-establishing power in phases.
7. However, their website has just gone down “for maintenance”. We’ll have more updates from Portugal as soon as we get them.
8. Image source, Reuters
9. Image caption,
10. A closed metro station in Lisbon
13. Madrid’s Metro says its service has been “interrupted” due to the power outage, in a post on X.
14. Images from this afternoon in the city, like the one below, show a barricaded station.
15. Several videos on social media appear to show passengers walking around dark subway stations in the city. We’ve teams working to verify the footage.
16. Image source, Reuters
17. Image caption,
18. Blue tape cordoned off a Metro station in the city
21. Barbara Tasch
22. Live reporter
23. I’ve been speaking to Kirsty, a teacher in Madrid, who tells me that she – and many others – “don’t know anything” about why the power in the city has gone out.
24. She says there have been mixed reports from Spanish media about the extent of the power cuts and no official communication from the government.
25. Kirsty, who teaches in an international school just outside the Spanish capital, says teachers at her school are now “wondering how we’ll get home” following reports of traffic jams due to lights not working.
26. She also says pupils at her school are aware there’s a blackout but don’t know the extent of it as they can’t access 5G on school premises and don’t have access to Wi-Fi.
27. Kirsty says that the outage began affecting her school and the area it’s in around 12:45 local time (11:45 BST), but “luckily” lunches had already been cooked for the children.
28. “There’s zero electricity,” she says, adding that there have been surges – meaning power has come back on – but only for a few seconds each time, nothing permanent.
31. We’ve just had this picture of queues at cash points in Lisbon, where card payments are not being accepted due to the power outage.
32. “It’s crazy, we were trying to pay for our brunch and it all shut down,” says Emily Lansdown, who’s in the city. “We’ve been trying to get a taxi to the beach because all the trains are down.”
33. Image source, Emily Lansdown
36. We’re beginning to see the first images showing the effects of the power outage in Spain and Portugal.
37. In one, a chef uses his phone’s torch to continue working, while a metro station in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon can be seen shuttered.
38. Meanwhile, people at the Madrid Open can be seen leaving the tournament in darkness. We reported earlier that play had been suspended due to the power issues.
39. Image source, Reuters
40. Image caption,
41. A chef uses a torch to continue working at a restaurant in Madrid
42. Image source, Reuters
43. Image caption,
44. Spectators at the Madrid Open are forced to leave under a veil of darkness
45. Image source, Reuters
46. Image caption,
47. A closed metro station in Lisbon
50. Guy Hedgecoe
51. Reporting from Madrid
52. The power outage began soon after midday Spanish time and it appears to have affected cities across the country, although the Balearic and Canary Islands do not appear to have been affected.
53. Mainland Portugal and Andorra also saw a similar blackout.
54. Public transport has been disrupted, with passengers evacuated from trains and traffic lights also affected.
55. In Madrid, many businesses, shops and restaurants were plunged into darkness. Internet service was also affected.
56. Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica has said it is working with energy companies to restore power.
59. In an update, Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica says it’s beginning to recover power in the north and south of the country.
60. It says this is “key to gradually restoring the electricity supply”.
61. “We continue working to restore power,” it adds.
62. Earlier, the company confirmed the outages and said all its resources were being dedicated to solving the issue.
65. We’re beginning to hear how the outage has affected Portugal, too.
66. According to the Reuters news agency, Portuguese police say traffic lights are affected across the country, the metro is closed in capital city Lisbon as well as Porto, and trains are not running.
69. Have you been affected by the power cuts in Spain and Portugal? Share your experiences:
70. In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.
73. Play has been suspended at the Madrid Open – an annual clay tennis tournament – due to the power outage currently affecting the Spanish capital and surrounding region.
74. British tennis player Jacob Fearnley was forced to leave the court, PA media reports.
75. The loss of power affected scoreboards and a camera above the court, it adds.
76. Image source, Reuters
77. Image caption,
78. One of the courts was left almost entirely empty after the power outage forced play to be suspended
81. Spain’s national railway company, Renfe, says the country’s “entire National Electricity Grid was cut off” at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST).
82. “Trains stopped” and were “without departures” at all stations, the company says.
85. Spain’s electricity grid operator Red Electrica has confirmed power outages across the country.
86. It is working to restore electricity supplies and says it’s working to analyse the causes of the blackouts.
87. “All resources are being dedicated to solving it,” it says in a post on X.
90. A huge power outage seems to be affecting swathes of Spain and Portugal.
91. Local reports say there are traffic jams in the centre of the Spanish capital, Madrid, due to traffic lights not working.
92. Information is coming through thick and fast, and we’ll bring you the latest as and when we get it. Stay with us.