The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has confirmed that the unprecedented blackout which plunged the country into darkness was triggered by the sudden loss of 15 gigawatts of power, representing approximately 60% of national demand at the time.
However, the precise cause of this catastrophic event remains unclear, although some reports out of Portugal, which have also been affected, say it was caused by a “strange meteorological event.”
In a public statement, Sánchez explained that the widespread telecommunications disruptions were largely the result of power outages affecting mobile antennas. He reassured the public that operators anticipate services will gradually be restored as the electricity supply returns to normal.
“Telecommunications are experiencing disruptions, primarily caused by a lack of power to antennas. Operators expect services to be restored as electricity is progressively re-established,” Sánchez said during his second appearance addressing the ongoing crisis, which began at 12:32pm on Monday.
The Prime Minister also reported that, according to the national grid operator Red Eléctrica, nearly 50% of the country's electricity supply has already been restored. Improvements have been noted across almost all regions, albeit at varying rates. Sánchez stressed that efforts to fully restore power would continue through the night.
In response to the emergency, Telefónica announced the activation of its crisis committee, following procedures outlined in its Contingency Plan for major incidents. The company stated that it is working to maintain services for as long as possible by optimising available resources and prioritising essential communications.
"The widespread blackout has severely impacted telecommunications services, which are currently being supported by power generators and battery backups while awaiting the restoration of the electricity supply on which the network depends," Telefónica said in a statement issued shortly after the outage.
Among the country’s major telecommunications providers, Vodafone Spain reported that it had recovered approximately half of its mobile network. Meanwhile, MasMovil, Orange and Digi have not yet provided updates on the status of their services.
