##Update:

• Authorities have ruled out a cyberattack, with investigations indicating the outage was caused by a “very strong oscillation in the electrical network” that led Spain’s power system to disconnect from the European system, collapsing the Iberian electricity network

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/massive-power-outage-in-spain-portugal-leaves-millions-in-dark/

English summary:

• A massive power outage struck most of Spain, Portugal, parts of southern France, and Andorra around 12:30 PM CET on April 28, 2025 (3.5hrs ago).
• Electricity consumption dropped by about 50%, causing widespread disruption.
• Possible causes include a rare atmospheric phenomenon affecting high-voltage lines or a cyberattack; investigations are ongoing.
• The blackout disrupted traffic lights, public transport (trains, metro), airports, and telecommunications.
• Hospitals operated on emergency power; many surgeries were suspended; urgent patient transfers prioritized.
• Emergency plans were activated; Madrid raised its emergency level and considered military support to maintain order.
• Power restoration began gradually but full recovery could take 6 to 10 hours.
• The outage affected supermarkets, businesses, and public services, causing closures and delays.

In the US, I think it's more common to charge after. I worked at an agency whose paperwork stated they would charge before the session, but they never actually did.

Personally, I'm not gonna cancel a session just because the card declines anyway- I can be paid another time; so it's much less awkward to just charge after imo

What the fuck?