Spain races to restore full power after massive blackout

Authorities in Spain and Portugal were scrambling on Tuesday to get transport networks and infrastructure running again after a massive power outage brought the two countries to a standstill.

Widespread disruption continued in Madrid and other cities after Monday’s blackout paralysed transport and communications across much of Spain and Portugal.

Spain’s grid operator, Red Eléctrica, said that by 6am local time on Tuesday more than 99 per cent of energy demand had been restored after millions spent the night in darkness.

Almost 24 hours after the outage began, authorities have yet to give a cause for the power cut. Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said in a television address late on Monday that all “potential causes are being analysed”.

Spain’s national rail operator Renfe said on Tuesday that some services would operate normally, including trains between Madrid and Barcelona.

Some suburban services around Madrid were also resuming but metro services in the Spanish capital remained suspended. Aena, Spain’s biggest airport operator, warned of continued disruption to flights.

E-Redes, the operator of Portugal’s electricity distribution network, said that it had restored power to 6.2mn of its 6.5mn customers, according to local media reports.

Spain is one of the countries at the forefront of efforts to rely more on renewable electricity as part of the shift away from fossil fuels, but Monday’s crisis is likely to fuel concerns about power networks’ ability to cope with demand and the increased volatility of supply from renewables.