Power returns across Spain after Monday's blackout

MADRID, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday morning that 99.95 percent of power has been restored in Spain following Monday's blackout that affected the country along with Portugal and part of France.

"Thank you to all citizens for once again being an example of responsibility and civic spirit," said Sanchez, who confirmed he would hold another meeting of Spain's National Security Council to continue the investigation into the incident.

The blackout hit Spain at 12:33 p.m. local time (1033 GMT) on Monday when Spain's power grid lost 15 gigawatts, the equivalent of 60 percent of its national demand, in just five seconds.

"What caused this sudden disappearance is something that specialists still don't know, but they will and the state authorities and all bodies are working to see what happened, without ruling out any hypothesis," Sanchez said.

Portuguese grid operator REN explained there had been "a very large oscillation in the electrical voltages, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system."

The mass blackout brought traffic to a standstill in many areas as traffic lights failed, causing long tailbacks, especially in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon.

Local and long-distance train services were halted, with thousands of passengers needing to be rescued from trains unable to move. Underground metro systems also came to an abrupt stop, with trains and those inside them trapped in tunnels for several hours.

More than 300 flights were also canceled. Although the airports have their own power sources, passengers and crew were unable to get to their flights due to transportation problems.

Meanwhile, Wi-Fi and mobile networks were also badly affected, leaving millions without service. ■