Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

I've been speaking with Sarah Jovovich who describes the panic and confusion after the lights went off at Madrid's metro station.

“I was just getting off the train when the lights went out,” she says. "People were confused and hysterical, it was quite chaotic really."

Although she wasn't personally afraid, Sarah says "some people were panicking”.

The mobile phones stopped working and nobody had any information, she says, adding: "People didn't know what to do."

After police told passengers to evacuate the station, Sarah found the streets gridlocked with heavy traffic.

"No one understood anything. Businesses were closed, buses were full and people got nervous quickly," she says.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente says 11 trains are still stranded in Spain, hours after a power outage affected huge swathes of the country.

The minister says power has been restored to a control centre and there have been issues with the coupling of the locomotives and they are in difficult areas to access.

As of 22:00 local time (21:00 BST) Puente says 43.28% of the country's energy demand has been recovered.

Bernadette McCague & James Kelly
BBC News

Image source, Gabriela Chavez.

Gabriela Chavez was travelling between Seville and Madrid via train when the power went out and the AC and toilets stopped working.

"They have let everyone off the train but we have no idea how long we will have to wait for," she told the BBC earlier today.

"People at the top of the hill have flagged down cars who have dropped off water and crisps for us, which is kind [and] people from the village have come to drop off supplies for us.

"Someone has come from the local town with a big pot of pasta for everyone to eat. It's actually very sweet to see everyone come together in a time of need."

Jonathan Emery, 37, also told the BBC of his experience when his train was stopped. "For about an hour, [the train was] just not moving, the doors were closed.

"After about an hour they could at least open the doors which let a little bit of ventilation in. About half an hour after that people were let off the train."

Red Electrica, Spain's power operator, has issued an update in the last few moments that they are meeting 35% of the country's energy demand.

"We can currently estimate the recovered demand at around 9,200 MW, which represents approximately 35% of the forecast demand," a translation of the statement reads.

Danny Aeberhard
Europe regional editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Some electricity supplies are being restored, both in Spain and Portugal. But the disruption continues to be massive.

Train services remain suspended, with thousands of people stranded. Shops in some areas have reported empty shelves, as people stock up on basic supplies and have to use cash due to electronic payment systems being down.

Spain's central government is assuming emergency powers in those areas that have requested it -- including Andalusia and Madrid.

The authorities are trying to project an air of calm. But, they've increased deployments of the security forces. They're also calling on citizens to limit their use of mobile phones, with networks under strain, and not to make unnecessary trips.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to speak shortly to give an update after the country's interior ministry declared a state of emergency.

The conference was scheduled to begin at 21:30 local time (20:30 BST), but seems to be delayed.

We will bring you the latest lines from him once it begins.

Power operator REN says electricity is back for 750,000 customers in Portugal.

Energy supply to the Carregado and Sacavém substations has been restored, the operator says on its website, adding that this is an "essential step" towards re-supplying Lisbon.

"All substations in Greater Porto are now operational, meaning consumers in the area should see their situation return to normal soon," the statement adds.

Sofia Ferreira Santos
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, Spain has declared a state of emergency and says regions that request emergency status will be granted extra support.

But what does this mean?

Spain's 17 regions have their own directly-elected authorities, which handle a number of issues local to their area.

But when big events happen, such as a large-scale power cut as we're seeing today, and impact large swathes of the country, regions are able to get further help from the national government by requesting it actions a state of emergency.

Today, for example, the regions of Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura have asked the central Spanish government to take over public order and other functions while the country grapples with the impacts of the power cut.

According to Spanish law, an incident can be considered a state of emergency when it affects several autonomous regions in the country and they have a need for further resources, or require national leadership.

Devian Maside
Reporting from Madrid

Image source, Reuters

Power is coming back in the Spanish capital, some shops and the metro. Some rural areas are reporting the power being restored.

Public transport, the trains and metro are still not open to the public but security is gathering at the entrance of Sol metro station for it to be opened soon.

Rural areas north of Madrid have reported the power and Wifi coming back.

Streetlights have also just come on in the city.

Spanish power operator Red Electrica has said more than 20% of the country's affected power capacity has been restored.

Electricity supply is being "progressively restored", the operator says in a post on social media platform X.

Some of this supply has been coming from domestic sources and some from France, the post adds.

Spain's Interior Ministry has declared a state of emergency following today's power outage.

The emergency status will be applied to regions that request it, the ministry says.

So far, Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura have asked for the central government to take over public order and other functions.

Power outage unlikely to be caused by a single fault - UK expertpublished at 19:46 BST 28 April

19:46 BST 28 April

Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporter

Image source, Reuters

Not a single expert I've spoken to has a clear theory about what might lie behind this.

It's not an exaggeration to say everyone is stumped. But this is a reminder of how vulnerable national electricity systems are.

"Over many decades, we can see that at least one major power outage, on the scale of this one, tends to happen somewhere in the world every year," says Prof Keith Bell at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde.

"Every event is different, both in how it started and how the characteristics of that particular system affected how it developed," he suggests.

He says this outage in Portugal and Spain is unlikely to be down to one single fault.

Power operators are supposed to be what is called N-1 secure - meaning they can cope with any single outage and absorb that problem into the system.

Image source, Portugal.gov.pt

The website of the Portuguese government, portugal.gov.pt, is currently down and displaying an error message which reads:

"The government portal is currently unavailable. We will try to restore the service soon."

It seems to have been down for a while - when we tried to access it earlier this afternoon, at around 14:20 BST, it was also displaying the same message.

Simon Browning
Business Reporter

Image source, EPA

We've had some data through on flight cancellations today from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Sent to the BBC this afternoon, the statistics showed that 96 flights departing from Portugal had been cancelled, with Lisbon the worst-affected airport (29.63% of departures cancelled).

In Spain, 45 departures had been cancelled.

Barcelona's airport saw 2.98% departures cancelled and in Madrid it was 2.56%.

This data relates to overall flight cancellations. We do not know the specific reasons for each cancellation.

Earlier, Spain's transport minister said air traffic was operating at 80% capacity.

As we've been reporting throughout the day, the power outage has led to considerable disruption on roads across Portugal and Spain.

Here are some of the latest images we've seen of traffic officers working to direct vehicles in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

Sections of Lisbon Airport have also been closed, with police officers there trying to control the flow of passengers in and out of the area.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

• We've written up a separate piece showcasing some of the most striking images from today - you can look at that here.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean digital editor

Pensioners Siegfried and Christine, who have been living on the outskirts of Madrid for the past 17 years after moving there from the US, say an old wind-up radio was their only source of information when the power cut happened.

The couple had bought the radio for emergencies when they lived in the US state of Virginia, where lengthy power cuts are more frequent.

With the internet, phone coverage and mobile reception all down in their area, they dug out the hand-cranked device, which enabled them to tune into Spanish radio stations.

"If it wasn't for the radio, we'd struggle to find out what's happening. I think there may be a run on battery-operated radios as soon as the shops reopen."

Spanish power operator Red Electrica has released a statement about the areas where electricity has been restored.

Parts of Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias, Navarre, Castile and León, Extremadura, Andalucia, and La Rioja have now had their supply restored.

"Power has already been restored at substations in several areas," the statement says, which the national grid operator says will gradually allow electricity to be restored elsewhere.

Earlier, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed electricity has been restored to some areas in the north and south of Spain but urged the public to act "responsibly".

Marion Midaye
Reporting from Lisbon

With the metro system still shut here, bus stops are overwhelmed.

Phone networks are patchy, with some residents unable to connect at all. Supermarkets are seeing extremely long queues, with card payments down and many shoppers panic-buying essentials - echoing scenes from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Businesses across the city, as well as official judicial institutions like the courts, have closed their doors.

Portugal’s main broadcaster has also struggled to stay on air, facing technical issues as backup generators fail to provide consistent power.

Reaction from the news that it could take Spain six to eight hours to return to normal, and Portugal a week, has left some feeling unimpressed and frustrated. Others are not pleased that some Spanish cities have reportedly got electricity back while Portugal is still grappling with the outage.

The power cut has thrown Lisbon into total disruption, with no clear timeline yet for full restoration.

Simon Browning
Business Reporter

Image source, EPA

David Gleave, an aviation investigator, says any interruption to power supply will not affect air traffic control, as "a battery will kick in a maximum of a second later, so airplanes are safe".

"From then on, a diesel-powered generator will keep power running so air traffic control can function".

This same process "keeps the runway lights on, navigation aids and radar", Gleave continues.

Enaire, Spain’s Air Navigation Organisation, said earlier on X: "Air traffic management operations from the five control centers @ENAIRE, external are maintained with the support of the generator sets planned for this type of incident. Appropriate regulations are being implemented to ensure the complete safety of operations."