Major power outages in Spain and Portugal cause problems with metro networks, traffic lights and ATMs

A power outage paralyzed much of Spain and Portugal on Monday, halting trains, disrupting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a problem in the European network, which he described as a "strong tremor", was the cause of the outage, but that the cause was still being determined.

The Spanish leader asked the public to refrain from speculation, and said that no theory regarding the cause of the outage had been ruled out, the Telegraph reports.

Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said that full power restoration in the country and neighboring Portugal could take 6-10 hours.

By mid-afternoon, voltage was gradually returning to the north, south and west of the peninsula, the company said.

The company declined to speculate on the causes of the major outage.

Sánchez thanked the governments of France and Morocco, from where they were supplying energy to restore power to northern and southern Spain.

The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement, saying there were no signs that the outage was due to a cyberattack.

Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, told reporters that this was unprecedented, calling the event "extraordinary."

The outage hit Spain and Portugal, including their capitals, Madrid and Lisbon. Offices were closed and traffic was blocked after traffic lights stopped working.

Calls were not possible on some mobile phone networks, although some apps worked. In Barcelona, ​​residents went into shops looking for battery-powered radios and civilians directed traffic at intersections along the Gran Via, which runs through the city.

The countries have a combined population of about 60 million. It was not immediately clear how many were affected. It is rare to have such a widespread outage across the entire Iberian Peninsula.

Spain's Canary and Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, located along the Mediterranean in Africa, were not affected by the outage.

Authorities said the cause was not immediately known, although a Portuguese official said the problem appeared to be with Spain's electricity distribution network.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an extraordinary meeting of Spain's National Security Council, and visited Red Eléctrica to follow up on efforts to restore the network's operation.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he had spoken several times with Sanchez, and expected electricity to be restored by the end of the day.

The Portuguese cabinet called an emergency meeting at the prime minister's residence.

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

"It seems there was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. It is still being verified," Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro was quoted as saying.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to "a problem with the European electricity system," according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

The company said it was forced to cut off electricity in certain areas to stabilize the network, according to Expresso.

The blackout is the second serious power outage in Europe in less than six weeks, after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom, and comes as authorities across Europe brace for Russian-backed sabotage.