A method and arrangement is provided for adjusting the transmission power of radio signals sent over a radio link from a second node to be received by a first node reducing the transmission power consumption and/or optimizing the radio system capacity. The first node maintains a quality target of the link by generating a SIR target value by means of running an outer loop power control, which SIR target value is used for generating a power adjustment command to be sent to the second node for adjusting the transmission power such that a power level adequate for providing the quality target of the link is achieved. The method comprises the step of detecting an abrupt change in the conditions of the radio signals received from the second node, generating a temporary SIR target value, and replacing the SIR target value generated by the outer loop power control with the temporary SIR target value when generating the power adjustment command to be sent to the second node for adjusting the transmission power.