Power cut was 'thrilling and bizarre', says expat

A British expat has described the "confusing, thrilling and bizarre" experience of living through a major power blackout in Spain.

Experts have been trying to determine what caused the sweeping outage on Monday afternoon, which saw people stuck on trains and traffic lights failing.

Rudi Voller, who moved to Madrid from Essex in 2020, said the city centre was swarmed by the sound of police sirens and helicopters.

"Not knowing whether it would be hours or days was a strange, sinking feeling," the 28-year-old told the BBC.

Mr Voller, from Wickford, said a "mundane" Monday morning was transformed when his flat, near El Retiro Park, lost power at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST).

"The majority of shops, bars and restaurants immediately closed," explained the University of Birmingham graduate, who lives with his partner Lizzie.

Mr Voller said people received updates via a man on the street playing an "old-school radio", connected to a news station based on the Canary Islands.

It was a day of widespread disruption, with delays mounting at airports and shops, homes and restaurants plunged into darkness.

But people survived on cold sandwiches, cash payments and "a few beers to lighten the mood", said Mr Voller, who got in touch via Your Voice, Your BBC News.

He was even able to offer a spare bed to a man from Barcelona who became stranded due to train cancellations.

"Humanity shone through, people helped each other and in typical Spanish style, some even used it as an excuse to drink on whenever terraces remained open," the expat added.

He said there were "cheers across the city" when the lights came back on as darkness began to fall.

Mr Voller added: "The six or seven hours of complete shut-out from the outside world was very surreal and, at times, a little worrying."

By Monday night, 50% of power had been restored across Spain, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Portuguese energy provider REN also said electricity had been restored to 750,000 customers.

"And just like that, by Tuesday morning everything had gone back to normal," Mr Voller added.

"It was as if it never happened."

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