Spain and Portugal have both declared national states of emergency after a catastrophic power outage left nearly 60 million people in darkness on Monday evening, leaving entire cities without electricity, disrupting transportation routes, cutting access to digital communications networks and critical services, as well as disrupting digital communications itself.
Government officials announced Tuesday morning that the outage was caused by a major failure of Iberian Peninsula’s shared electricity grid, likely as the result of cyber attacks or technical faults still under investigation. Initial reports indicate disruption began around 8:15 p.m. local time and quickly spread throughout Spain to include major urban centers including Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and Porto.
Spanish Prime Minister Maria Lopez and Portuguese Prime Minister Tiago Silva both issued joint televised statements early Tuesday declaring states of emergency, calling upon national security forces, emergency response teams, and prioritizing power restoration to hospitals, water treatment facilities and other critical infrastructure.
“This infrastructure crisis is among the gravest our countries have ever faced,” declared Prime Minister Lopez. “We are working closely with European cybersecurity agencies and energy regulators to identify its source and prevent further damage.”
Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa Silva called for calm and patience as residents encountered food spoilage, public transport delays, and no access to digital services. “Our first responsibility is the wellbeing and safety of our citizens,” he noted, and this issue would be dealt with “with great urgency”.
Airports in both countries experienced widespread delays and more than 300 flights were either cancelled or rerouted overnight, forcing hospitals to use backup generators with health officials prioritizing critical care units first. Railways, subways and traffic systems became paralyzed, creating chaos on roads while leaving thousands of commuters stranded on roads.
European Union officials in Brussels have offered technical support and called for a high-level emergency summit to coordinate energy security and cybersecurity protocols across the bloc. NATO has expressed alarm if foreign interference or malicious intent are confirmed as contributing factors in this incident.
Energy experts caution that full restoration of grid functionality could take days. Meanwhile, local governments have opened emergency shelters and distributed supplies to vulnerable populations.
As investigations continue, authorities advise residents to conserve fuel, remain informed through battery-powered radios, and avoid unnecessary travel. This crisis has underlined the fragility of modern infrastructure as well as hybrid warfare threats in our increasingly interconnected world.