Spain's power supply almost fully restored after one of Europe's most severe blackouts

Power had almost fully returned to Spain early April 29 morning as many questions remained about what caused one of Europe's most severe blackouts that grounded flights, paralyzed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across Spain and Portugal, Report informs via AP.

By 6:30 a.m. local time, more than 99% of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Eléctrica said.

Power had returned to several regions across Spain and Portugal as the nations reeled from the still-unexplained widespread blackout that had turned airports and train stations into campgrounds for stranded travelers.

Monday night, many city residents, including in Spain's capital of Madrid, went to sleep in total darkness. The normally illuminated cathedral spires of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica became indistinguishable from the night sky. Streets remained deserted even in neighborhoods where lights flickered back on, as people stayed home after a day of chaos.

''We have a long night ahead,'' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said when he addressed the European nation late Monday. ''We are working with the goal of having power restored to the entire country.''

In Madrid, cheers erupted from balconies where the electricity had returned.

But more than 16 hours after the outage first hit, people all over the Iberian Peninsula were still struggling to call their loved ones, hampered by the loss of mobile phone service.