The sweeping power outage that hit Spain and Portugal this week has raised questions about the electricity grid in a region not normally known for blackouts.

Red Eléctrica, Spain’s electricity grid operator, ruled out a cyberattack, human error or unusual weather. Experts say it could take weeks to determine the cause.

The hunt has begun for the cause of a massive blackout across Spain, Portugal and parts of France that halted trains, bank machines and traffic lights, in one of Europe's biggest ever power system collapses.