Thought Leadership
Spain and Portugal experienced a widespread power outage that affected large parts of both countries. The Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica reported the disruption and announced that “all resources have been deployed to resolve” the problem.
Short-term but far-reaching effects
According to initial reports, the power outage only lasted a few seconds in the affected areas, but had a significant impact on the infrastructure. In addition to the power supply, the internet, 5G networks and telephone lines were also affected across the country.
The disruption began at around 12 noon in mainland Spain and apparently spread to parts of France. Although services have since been restored, the effects were clearly noticeable: In Madrid, parts of the metro were evacuated, traffic light systems failed and in Lisbon, metro traffic came to a complete standstill.
Possible causes are being investigated
The authorities are currently investigating two main hypotheses as to the cause of the outage. On the one hand, a technical problem with the grid synchronization between the Spanish and French electricity systems is being considered.
Secondly, a cyber attack cannot be ruled out. If this suspicion is confirmed, it would be the largest cyber attack on critical infrastructure in European history. The cyber security authorities have launched an investigation into the matter.
