Spain outage: Mobile network hit, Madrid Open tennis matches suspended as European countries hit by massive blackout

A massive power blackout has struck Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France. The outage has reportedly left millions without electricity, crippling mobile networks and forcing the suspension of Madrid Open tennis matches at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center. According to a report by Sky News, Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Spain’s grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE), warned that restoring power could take between six and ten hours. The outage has also paralysed public transport in major cities—including the Madrid and Barcelona metros and Lisbon trains, darkened airports, stopped traffic lights, and disrupted phone services, reports claim. Both the Spanish and Portuguese governments, alongside REE and other utilities, have activated emergency contingency plans and launched probes into the cause of the blackout. In southern France, grid operator RTE reported only a brief interruption before power was fully restored and is investigating any links to the Iberian outage.


How did the outage affect Spain

Spain’s railway operator told AFP that the power cut caused trains to be halted across the entire country, while the airports operator Aena mentioned that "several incidents" occurred at Spanish airports. The Madrid Open saw its matches suspended after the widespread power outage hit the Spanish capital. This forced 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and his British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court, as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power.

Mobile phone networks were down, and AFP reporters in Madrid and Barcelona noted that many people took to the streets, holding their smartphones up in an attempt to reconnect to a network. With the internet inaccessible, many people turned to the radio for news updates on the situation.

Numerous traffic lights stopped working, prompting vehicles to slow down to avoid accidents. Meanwhile, metros and trains were stopped, and Spain’s national road authority, DGT, urged drivers to refrain from using the roads.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has also visited his way to the headquarters of Red Electrica, the state electricity network operator, to receive an update on the emergency, according to his office.

Red Electrica of Spain confirmed it had started restoring power in the northern and southern regions of the country, though the issue had not yet been fully resolved. "We are continuing to work to bring back power," it stated.

Spanish radio stations reported that part of the Madrid underground was being evacuated. Cader Ser Radio noted traffic jams in the city centre as traffic lights stopped working.

Hundreds of people gathered outside office buildings in Madrid, while a strong police presence was seen around key locations, directing traffic and driving through central areas with lights, according to a Reuters witness.