Huge blackout in Spain and Portugal, Sanchez: «Unknown cause is not excluded any hypothesis. We will live critical hours ». State are Area, Trains and Metropolitan

And Blackout massif hit the whole Continental Spain, Portugal and parts of the south of the France around 12:30 today, Monday.

The reasons Of the worst blackout in Spain’s recent history – which is still ongoing, even if in some areas electricity is slowly returning – they are not yet ascertainedaccording to what was declared by the Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sanchez in a speech to the nation. “No hypothesis cannot be excluded”he said, before asking the population to keep calm and follow the indications: “The next few hours will be critical.”

The immediate cause of what happened would be to be sought in a strong oscillation of the flow of energy in the networkbut it is not yet clear what may have caused it.

According to the Portuguese Ren network operator, cited by the agency Reutersthe reason would be linked to a rare atmospheric phenomenon: due to extreme temperature variations In the internal areas of Spain, abnormal oscillations have occurred in the lines with very high tension, a phenomenon known as “Induced atmospheric vibration”. (Here the complete explanation of the phenomenon).

At the moment, official Spanish, Portuguese and European Union sources explain that There are no indications that make you think of a hacker attack: “There is no indication that the blackout has been caused,” said the Spanish vice -president of the European Commission Teresa Ribera.

A graphic of the Spanish network Red Eléctric Nacional Network shows the consumption curve that collapses at 12:30 o’clock. Red Eléctric said that “even 6-10 hours” could be needed to return to normal, while according to the Portuguese operator “The complexity of the phenomenon and the need to rebalance the electricity flows at an international level “lead to penalizing that “The complete normalization of the network may take up to a week”.

Paralysis and chaos of transport and lines

The consequences of the blackout have been immediate, and very heavy.

The telephone lines they interrupted throughout Spain and Portugal; The government asked to “responsible” to mobile telephony in a “responsible” way (which instead remained in operation), making “short phone calls and only when indispensable”.

Paralyzed the railway systemwith the Spanish national network that was forced to announce that All trains have been stopped in the stationsand there are no departures.

Several airports are also affected by that of Barajasin Madrid, to that of Lisbonin Portugal; the Metropolitan – from Barcelona to the Spanish capital – stopped.

Also the tOnce the Spanish capital is the chaos; Discomforts have been reported in all the main cities, from Seville to Barcelona, ​​from Valencia to Pamplona.

The Spanish traffic authority asked the population of Do not use the car unless it is strictly necessary: ​​an appeal that echoes that of Prime Minister Sanchez.

People “trapped” in tunnels and lifts, and the request on the army

The Spanish Department of Interior has established a team of crisis whose priority was above all the evacuation of people trapped in the subway and trains, many of which in tunnelsand in lifts of public and private buildings following the blackout.

The hospitals of the Madrid community reported that they can work regularly, but only thanks to current generators: “Only where necessary, the normal hospital activities have been suspended”.

The five nuclear power plants of Spain They have stopped producing electricity, for safety reasons: the plants are using electrogenic groups to power the internal safety systems of each central, which must always remain operational.

The president of the Madrid community, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, asked the Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez to activate the level of emergency 3, “So that the army can maintain order if necessary”.

Madrid Masters 1000 also affected the Blackout: the first matches of the day, including that of Italian Matteo Arnaldiwhich have been interrupted. Over the afternoon, the organizers decided to cancel all the matches scheduled for Monday, waiting for the restoration.

Raffaele FoschiniItalian engineer in Lisbon, he told the courier that in the city the traffic lights are off, the combination doors of the condominiums blocked, the ATMs deactivated: “The only thing that still seems to work are mobile phones – as long as it lasts the battery”

The slow restoration of the network in Spain, Portugal and France

Around the 13:40the Spanish operator Red Electrica said of have started the restoration of electricity Starting from the North and South of the Iberian Peninsula.

How – at 15:56 – the light returned to Seville, Seville exploded in an applause (but the city cell network is still out of use).

In Barcelona the current returned around 18:20.

According to the Portuguese newspaper Expressthe Portuguese E-Redes network operator has declared that the current interruption due to “a problem with the European electrical system”, and to have been forced to cut energy into specific areas to stabilize the network.

The areas of France where the current had skipped instead returned to a normal situation shortly after 14:10.

The Ren, the company responsible for the transmission of electricity and gas in Portugal, has declared that it provides for “balanced” the system this night.

The hypothesis of a hacker attack

The Spanish National Institute for Computer Safety (Incibe) is evaluating what happened to understand If it is treated a computer attack.

Even the Portuguese minister for territorial cohesion had not initially excluded a computer attack. “There is this possibility, but it was not confirmed,” said Manuel Castro Almeida to the microphones of the RTP, the Portuguese state TV.

The National Center for Computer Safety (CNCS) of Portugal reported that “for the moment” there are no indications that there has been a computer attack: “At the moment there have been no indications that indicate a computer attack”.

Also according to the European Union of IT security agency (Enisa), the first investigations on the cause of the interruptions suggest a technical breakdown rather than a computer attack. “For the moment the investigation seems to highlight a technical problem or a cable,” said a spokesperson for the agency in a declaration sent by e-mail to Bloomberg. “However – he adds – Enisa is monitoring the situation closely and we are in contact with the competent authorities at national and community level”.

“The situation is very seriousat the moment there are no indications on the causes that triggered the collapse of the electrical system. But nothing can be excluded, from the hacker attack on a sabotage to some vital infrastructure of the transmission, “he told Ansa agency Davide
Tabarelliexpert of Nomisma Energia. There may also be “a fire in the French Sudest who put an import line out of the game. It will take hours to bring the Spanish electrical service back to normal ».

The situation in Italy, and the situation of the Italians

The Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani – who is located in these hours in Spain, in Valencia, for a meeting with Italian entrepreneurs in Spain and for the Congress of the PPE – has omunted that he was in contact with the ambassador of Italy and with the consulates in Madrid and Barcelona to follow. “Italian citizens were contacted by the consulates of Italy and by the crisis unit from Rome with messages that may not have been still received on cell phones,” reported the Foreign Ministry.

The Italian company that manages the national networks, Terna, has instead communicated that at the moment there are no operational critical issues on the electrical network of national transmission.

Item in update …

April 28, 2025 (modification on April 28, 2025 | 20:09)

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