Mass Blackouts Hit Spain, Portugal

Spain and Portugal, both of which generate a majority of their electricity with renewables, were simultaneously hit by widespread power outages on Monday, with no explanation immediately forthcoming about the cause. Some reports said the outages also hit some parts of France.

Cellular service and Internet were reported down throughout both countries, and airports lost power as well, according to sky news:

The extensive rail service in both countries was also impacted, and the metros in major cities like Madrid and Barcelona had to be evacuated:

Here’s an excerpt from a report at Sky News:

Large parts of Spain and Portugal - including Madrid and Lisbon - have been hit by a power outage.

Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica says it is working with energy companies to restore power.

The Spanish government has convened a crisis meeting at the offices of Red Electrica due to the outage, according to the El Pais newspaper in the country.

It comes as France briefly lost power following the outages in Spain and Portugal, French grid operator RTE said.

Parts of Madrid underground have been evacuated and traffic lights in the city are not working, according to local media.

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Play has been suspended at the Madrid Open tennis tournament due to the outage - with Britain's Jacob Fearnley forced off court in a critical moment during his third-round tie with Grigor Dimitrov.

The loss of power affected scoreboards and the camera above the court.

Maddie Sephton, who is from west London, was on the Madrid Metro when the power outage occurred.

"We got on the train and everything was fine," she told Sky News. "But then everything went dark."

She was stuck on the train for 20 minutes until a staff member opened the doors manually.

Mrs Sephton says she was on her way to the airport at the time - and had to exit the station by hiking up 15 flights of stairs with her luggage.

"No lifts are operating - making it difficult for elderly people with limited mobility," she added.

Above ground, she said that "everyone is just standing around and waiting".

Bars are unable to take card payments, cash machines are down, and traffic lights aren't working either.

"I currently don't have any internet service and just €15 in my wallet - I can't withdraw any money from the ATM," she added.

"A couple have offered to let us get a ride in their taxi to the airport. Their flight is at 4.30pm so they're pretty relaxed - but my flight back to London is at 3pm and I'm nervous."

I’ll probably have more on this later today as more information is made public.

That is all for now.