MADRID (AP) — The cause of Spain and Portugal's widespread blackouts remained a mystery on Tuesday, with some isolated disruption remaining after power was largely restored.
One of Europe’s most severe blackouts grounded flights, paralyzed train systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula on Monday.
Click to Gallery
An electric tram drives uphill in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that stopped trams, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People queue for petrol and at an ATM in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that shut down gas stations and ATMs. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers inside Atocha train station the day after a major power outage in Madrid, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather in Atocha train station during a major power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers react as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers crowd the train accesses at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A man sells battery-powered radios and torches on a Barcelona street during the blackout in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People queue for petrol in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that shut down gas stations, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers sit as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers crowd the train accesses as other sleep at the ground at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers react as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Electric trams drive through Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that stopped trams, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers crowd the train accesses at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers sleep and sit on the ground as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A man sells battery-powered radios and torches on a Barcelona street during the blackout in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Paquita Gonzalez cries as she waits for news of train departures, after spending the whole night at the station Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A city bus goes by the historic city of Santiago, Spain during a major power outage across Spain and Portugal Monday, April, 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
A car drives down an unlit street in Lisbon, during a nationwide power outage, Monday night, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People board on a bus, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers queue inside Madrid airport, during a nationwide power outage, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A freight train loaded with cars is stopped on the track during a nationwide power outage near Sagunto, eastern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Vendors use their phone light to select and save some food, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers walk towards Lisbon Airport during a nationwide power outage in Lisbon, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Garbage bags hang from the doors of electric recycling bins during a massive power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
A vendor sit at her shop, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers wait outside Lisbon Airport during a nationwide power outage in Lisbon, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Vendors use their phone light to select and save some food, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People try to board a crowded bus after the subway stopped running following a power outage in Lisbon, Portugal, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers wait at a train station during a nationwide power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
A medical staffer relocates a patient during a nationwide power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Passengers wait outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Vendors react outside their shop, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers roam outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers wait outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
By 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the Spanish electrical system was functioning normally, electricity operator Red Eléctrica said. Portuguese grid operator REN said power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers.
As life began to return to normal, authorities in Spain had yet to provide further explanation for why the nation of 49 million people lost 15 gigawatts — equivalent to 60% of its national demand — in five seconds.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government's priorities were restoring Spain's electrical system and finding the causes of the blackout so that a similar event “never takes place again.”
Spanish news agency EFE reported that authorities were investigating five deaths – including three members of the same family — that could be related to the blackout.
The three relatives died in Galicia due to possible carbon monoxide inhalation from a generator, a woman died in Valencia from problems with an oxygen supply machine and another died in a fire caused by a candle in Madrid, EFE said.
Eduardo Prieto, director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, noted two steep, back-to-back “disconnection events” before Monday's blackout. He told journalists that more investigation was needed.
Spain’s meteorological agency, AEMET, said it hadn't detected any “unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena," and no sudden temperature fluctuations were recorded at its weather stations.
Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Center said there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyberattack. Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage.
The Madrid Open tennis tournament resumed after the blackout caused 22 matches to be postponed. A packed schedule Tuesday included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals.
At Spain's largest train stations, droves of travelers waited Tuesday to board trains, or to rebook journeys. At Madrid's Atocha station, hundreds stood near screens waiting for updates. Many had spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets provided by the Red Cross.
By 11 a.m. Tuesday, service on Madrid's subway system was fully restored. In Barcelona, the system was operating normally, but some commuter trains remained suspended in the afternoon because of “electrical instability,” the company that runs the service, Rodalies Catalunya, said on X.
In some parts of Spain, commuter and mid-distance services were still suspended or running at reduced capacity.
Emergency workers in Spain said they had rescued around 35,000 passengers on Monday stranded along railways and underground. The blackout was especially disruptive for transit systems, turning sports centers, train stations and airports into makeshift refuges.
Rubén Carión was stranded on a commuter train outside Madrid but opened a window and walked to the nearest station. He and a friend later spent the night in Atocha station.
Sleeping on the floor “hungry, thirsty and tired,” the 24-year-old described his experience in two words: “pure chaos.”
Associated Press journalists Helena Alves in Lisbon, Portugal, and Teresa Medrano in Madrid contributed to this report.
An electric tram drives uphill in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that stopped trams, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People queue for petrol and at an ATM in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that shut down gas stations and ATMs. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers inside Atocha train station the day after a major power outage in Madrid, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather in Atocha train station during a major power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers react as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers crowd the train accesses at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A man sells battery-powered radios and torches on a Barcelona street during the blackout in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People queue for petrol in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that shut down gas stations, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers sit as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers crowd the train accesses as other sleep at the ground at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers react as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Electric trams drive through Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that stopped trams, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers crowd the train accesses at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers sleep and sit on the ground as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A man sells battery-powered radios and torches on a Barcelona street during the blackout in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Paquita Gonzalez cries as she waits for news of train departures, after spending the whole night at the station Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A city bus goes by the historic city of Santiago, Spain during a major power outage across Spain and Portugal Monday, April, 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
A car drives down an unlit street in Lisbon, during a nationwide power outage, Monday night, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People board on a bus, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers queue inside Madrid airport, during a nationwide power outage, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A freight train loaded with cars is stopped on the track during a nationwide power outage near Sagunto, eastern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Vendors use their phone light to select and save some food, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers walk towards Lisbon Airport during a nationwide power outage in Lisbon, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Garbage bags hang from the doors of electric recycling bins during a massive power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
A vendor sit at her shop, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers wait outside Lisbon Airport during a nationwide power outage in Lisbon, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Vendors use their phone light to select and save some food, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People try to board a crowded bus after the subway stopped running following a power outage in Lisbon, Portugal, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Passengers wait at a train station during a nationwide power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
A medical staffer relocates a patient during a nationwide power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Passengers wait outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Vendors react outside their shop, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Passengers roam outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers wait outside Atocha train station during a nationwide power outage in Madrid, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
