Almost half of Spain’s power supply restored while cause of blackout is still unknown

Following today's catastrophic power loss, the governments of Spain and Portugal declared states of emergency, with grid managers struggling to restore electrical supply throughout both nations before nightfall.

Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, proclaimed a state of emergency in Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia, La Rioja, and Madrid.

Almost 50% of Spain’s electricity supply has been restored after today’s massive power outage, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said tonight.

While the cause of the blackout is still not known, the grid operator has determined that it happened when 15 gigawatts of power were suddenly lost in just five seconds, according to Sánchez.

“This is something that has never happened before,” he said. “To give you an idea, 15 gigawatts is equivalent to approximately 60% of the country’s demand at that time.”

Spain will try to restore electricity nationwide by Tuesday morning, but the prime minister acknowledged that officials still can’t say with certainty when things will return to normal.

“The situation is very asymmetrical across the country. Some autonomous communities have already recovered up to 97% of their supply, while others, unfortunately, are below 15%,” he said.

When power was restored to one area in the ancient city center, cheers erupted, while other districts remained without power. Traffic lights are also coming back after police officers were manually directing traffic at major intersections.

All trains were canceled for the day. At the airport, hundreds of travelers crowded around airline offices, expecting to learn about cancelled or delayed flights.

Since the electricity has been restored, locals have followed the advise to limit travel. The city's streets are quiet tonight, with many restaurants and stores shuttered.