On 21 June 2024 at 12:24 CET, due to a major incident in the Continental Europe power system region, a large part of the transmission systems of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia suffered a voltage collapse followed by a total blackout in this area.
What is causing a power outage in Europe?
Continuous heat waves in southern and eastern Europe have seen surging electricity demand and power outages. The increased use of air conditioning units and cold water has put unprecedented pressure on electricity and water infrastructure, causing many systems to fail in recent weeks.
In contrast, Eastern European countries like Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria, which faced frequent blackouts in the post-Soviet era, have developed resilience that mitigates the societal impact of power outages.
How has a power outage affected Spain?
The power outage has brought public transport to a standstill, caused significant traffic jams and delayed flights. The disruption has impacted millions of people, matches for the Madrid Open tennis tournament have been suspended, Portuguese banks and schools have closed and hospitals in Spain have been forced to run on generators.
What caused a power outage in Portugal?
The Portuguese operator, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), attributed the outage to “induced atmospheric vibration” caused by extreme temperature variations in Spain, which triggered oscillations in high-voltage lines and synchronization failures across the interconnected European network.
Eastern European societies also retain a cultural memory of outages, with communities accustomed to coping mechanisms like cash-based transactions, manual traffic management, and localized water distribution.
What countries were affected by the blackouts?
Power cuts hit Spain, Portugal and other countries across Europe. What caused the blackouts? A huge blackout hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France around midday, causing chaos across the region. A huge power outage hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France on Monday morning, with trains, traffic lights and mobile signal all affected.