Blackout plunges Madrid into chaos

19 November 2004

MADRID- Thousands of people in Madrid were left without electricity after a blackout apparently caused by a breakdown in a power substation and a simultaneous fire in another station.

Part of the capital was plunged into chaos late on Thursday after the blackouts.

Subway trains ground to a halt, as did traffic on some main downtown thoroughfares, such as Paseo de la Castellana and Avenida de America, when traffic lights went dark.

A Union Fenosa electric company spokesman told EFE news agency “an incident” at Cerro de la Plata power substation south of the capital “was being evaluated” by city technicians and firefighters.

The spokesman did not specify whether the incident involved a fire, though he said smoke was coming out of the substation, located in the neighbourhood of Mendez Alvaro.

The Union Fenosa transformer “incident” occurred at the same time that a power substation belonging to Iberdrola in Ayala street in downtown Madrid broke down, leaving more than 15,000 consumers in the dark.

The building housing Spain’s lower house was also left without power.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news