"Massive power outage" in Spain and Portugal

A "massive power outage" has occurred in Spain and Portugal . Millions of people are affected, grid operators announced on Monday afternoon (local time). It could take up to ten hours for power to be restored.

The power outage led to traffic chaos. Traffic light failures caused miles-long traffic jams, forcing cars to slow down. Trains came to a standstill, and people had to be rescued from carriages. Others were trapped in elevators. Air traffic was also disrupted.

Internet networks were no longer functioning. In many places, people raised their cell phones in the air in search of reception, according to eyewitnesses. At least hospitals continued to operate thanks to the use of generators.

Was it a hacker attack?

The cause of the blackout is being investigated, the report said. Authorities have not ruled out a hacker attack. "We cannot speculate about the causes at this time," said Eduardo Prieto, head of the maintenance department of the Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica. Everything will be analyzed with the necessary detail as soon as possible.

The Spanish and Portuguese governments met for emergency meetings. The EU Commission is in contact with local authorities "to understand the cause and impact of the situation," a spokeswoman in Brussels said. She pointed to an EU-wide coordinated effort to get the power grid back up and running.

Blackout in Germany "unlikely"

The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has given the all-clear for Germany. "A widespread, long-lasting blackout is unlikely in Germany," the Bonn-based agency stated. The country's electrical power supply system is "designed to be redundant and has numerous safety mechanisms."

wa/cw (dpa, rtr, afp)