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"Gavin Newsom Fever," ‘Exceptional’ power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — An unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain
and Portugal to a standstill Monday, stopping trains, cutting phone
service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people
across the Iberian Peninsula. 

Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica declined to speculate on the
cause of the power outage that began around 12:30 p.m. Madrid time and
said restoring power fully could take six to 10 hours. Head of
operations Eduardo Prieto told journalists it was unprecedented, calling
the event “exceptional and extraordinary.” By 8:35 p.m., only 35% of
energy demand had been restored, Prieto said hours later. 

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a “strong oscillation” in the
European grid was behind the outage but the cause was still being
determined. He asked the public to refrain from speculation, and urged
people to call emergency services only if really necessary. 

It was the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks
after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the U.K., and it
came as authorities across Europe gird against sabotage backed by
Russia. 

The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center in a statement said there
was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack. Teresa Ribera, European
Commission executive vice president in charge of promoting clean energy,
indicated the same to journalists in Brussels and called the power
outage “one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent
times.” 

Spanish and Portuguese capitals affected

The outage began after midday. Offices closed and traffic was snarled in
major cities. In Barcelona civilians directed traffic. Train services in
both countries stopped, leaving tens of thousands of passengers
stranded. It wouldn’t be possible to restart trains later Monday even if
the power returned, Spain’s Transportation Minister Oscar Puente posted
on social media. 

The subway systems shut down. “I don’t know how I am going to get home,”
said Barcelona resident Ivette Corona as she watched a large group of
people fail to get on a bus that briefly stopped to squeeze in a couple
of passengers. 

In Madrid, hundreds of people at a bus stop that takes travelers to the
airport were trying to hitch-hike. Some held improvised signs to
convince drivers to take them. 

“I’ve been here for almost three hours, trying to get someone to take me
to the airport because my family arrived today and I can’t talk to them.
This is terrifying,” said Jessica Fernandez, one of the many people at
the bus stop. 

Hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators. Among
those most affected were homebound patients dependent on oxygen
machines. Gas stations stopped working. 

It was not possible to make calls or send text messages on most mobile
phone networks, though some people managed to connect on certain
messaging apps with intermittent data connections. People searched
stores for battery-powered radios to stay informed. 

It is rare to have such a widespread outage across the Iberian
Peninsula, with a combined population of about 60 million people.
Spain’s Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta
and Melilla, located across the Mediterranean in Africa, were not
affected. 

Spain’s prime minister convened an extraordinary meeting of the National
Security Council. Four regions of Spain declared an emergency and asked
the central government in Madrid to take over management of the crisis.
The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime
minister’s residence. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he
had spoken several times to Sánchez and expected power to be restored by
the end of the day. 

Portugal’s government said the outage appeared to stem from problems
outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa. 

Electricity was being pulled from Morocco and France to restore power to
southern and northern Spain, Spain’s prime minister said, thanking their
governments. Spain was also increasing the production from hydroelectric
and combined cycle thermal power plants. 

Airports working on backup systems
A graph on Spain’s electricity network website showing demand across the
country indicated a steep drop around 12:30 p.m. from 27,500 megawatts
to near 15,000 megawatts. 

Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems and some
flights were delayed, according to Aena, which runs 56 airports in
Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. 

In Lisbon, terminals closed and tourists sat outside waiting for news
about flights. 

“We haven’t seen any plane arriving or departing in the 50 minutes we’ve
been waiting here,” Dutch tourist Marc Brandsma told The Associated
Press. 

The Spanish Parliament in Madrid closed. Play at the Madrid Open tennis
tournament was suspended. 

Some took advantage of the lack of connectivity to enjoy the sunshine on
restaurant terraces, parks and beaches. Barcelona’s streets filled with
throngs of people milling in front of darkened stores and exchanging
information. 

“We are lucky. Some people got trapped in the metro. And there is a
positive side: We are talking more with each other,” said Monste Cortés
in Barcelona. She said dinner would be sliced bread and cold cuts. 

The owner of a popular ice-cream shop in Madrid began giving ice cream
away to people passing by. “After about two hours that the power went
out, I realized that the ice cream would start going bad,” said owner
Mario Solares. He said he estimated his losses at about 3,000 euros.
“Hopefully we can recover some of this money with the insurance or some
other way, we’ll see,” Solares added. 

The hunt for connectivity
As hours passed, so did the concern of those unable to reach loved ones.
Authorities in Barcelona have set up shelters for those unable to return
home to spend the night. 

Rubén Elvira, his wife and two daughters joked with friends on parting
that they would have to “write letters” to communicate. 

In Terrassa, an industrial town 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Barcelona,
stores selling generators were out of stock. 

Portugal’s National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said
backup power systems were operating. 

In Portugal, a country of some 10.6 million people, police placed more
officers on duty to cope with increased requests for help, including
from people trapped in elevators. 

Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, reports said. Courts stopped
work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected. 

https://apnews.com/article/spain-portugal-power-outage-electricity-b0c5fb
ca49b8422248c4f933e20303b3

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"Gavin Newsom Fever," ‘Exceptional’ power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people Green Morons <dipshits@greenparty.org> - 2025-04-28 23:21 +0000
  Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people "P. Coonan" <nospam@ix.netcom.com> - 2025-04-30 21:51 +0000
    Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people Dimitris Tzortzakakis <noone@nospam.com> - 2025-05-01 18:46 +0300
      Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people Dimitris Tzortzakakis <noone@nospam.com> - 2025-05-01 19:19 +0300
        Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people Klaus  Schadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreude.Zwergent�ter.@gmail.com> - 2025-05-01 09:26 -0700
      Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people JTEM <jtem01@gmail.com> - 2025-05-01 13:40 -0400
    Re: "Gavin Newsom Fever," "Exceptional" power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people JTEM <jtem01@gmail.com> - 2025-05-01 13:33 -0400

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