Spain and Portugal plugged back in following unexplained power outage

After a massive blackout that left millions of households in the dark, the majority of Spain and Portugal now have electricity supply again.

Following Monday’s outage, which stranded people in buildings, elevators, and public transportation and cut access to phones and the internet, more than 99 percent of Spain’s power networks were restored by Tuesday morning and most had “stabilized” Portugal, according to the respective power operators.

Authorities on the Iberian Peninsula have not yet explained the reason for the dramatic power outage.

Red Electrica, Spain’s electricity grid operator, announced on Tuesday morning that it was able to meet nearly all of the nation’s electricity demand.

By late on Monday, Portugal’s REN reported that it had all of its 89 power substations operational.

According to Step Vaessen for Al Jazeera, “loud cheers” erupted overnight as the power surged in Madrid. However, she claimed that “many people were still stranded in the stations because the trains were moving.”

The metro system in Madrid announced that Tuesday morning’s rush hour train operators would be able to resume service for 80% of the trains.

According to REN, Portugal’s 6.5 million households had their power restored for the most part overnight.

With the power back on, attention is turning to the causes of the region’s networks’ widespread failures.

The Iberian Peninsula’s largely undeveloped region, which has a combined population of about 60 million, was spared from the blackout. There is little precedent, according to officials.

Candidate candidates include cyberattacks and skewed climate conditions. As the investigation into the incident begins, officials have urged calm.

Tuesday morning, both the Spanish and Portuguese governments held crisis meetings.

According to Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego, Portuguese grid operator officials have identified a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” as the cause.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro claimed Spain was the cause of the failure.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated that “no hypothesis or possibility is being ruled out” and that “all the potential causes” of the incident are being investigated. He also cautioned the public to “not speculate” because of the danger of “misinformation.

He claimed that 15 gigawatts of electricity, or roughly 60% of the power being used at the time, had “suddenly disappeared.”

Red Electrica called the interruption “exceptional and completely extraordinary”

The director of network operations for the business claimed responsibility for the company’s network disruption in France. What caused this disconnect, &nbsp, is still a mystery.