On Monday April 28, 2025, the lights went out across Spain and Portugal. In the aftermath of this giant blackout, power has almost completely been restored. However, the causes have still not been established.
The Iberian Peninsula in chaos
Trains at a standstill, subways closed, traffic jams, flights cancelled, telephone communications and Internet access partially cut off, card readers out of service: this unprecedented power cut has plunged the Iberian Peninsula into chaos.
Electricity restored in Spain
At around 6am on Tuesday morning, Spanish power grid operator REE announced that electricity had been restored to over 99% in mainland Spain, with a production of 21.26 megawatts.
The state of electricity in Portugal
In Portugal, according to the electricity grid operator, some 6.2 million households had power again in the middle of the night, out of a total of 6.5 million.
60% of electricity lost in five seconds
The blackout began at 12:33pm on Monday. 15 gigawatts, or 60% of demand, were lost in five seconds, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. At a press conference, the head of state said that "no hypothesis has been ruled out". Never before had there been such a "collapse" of the Spanish network, he added.
The source of the problem "probably in Spain"
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro described the situation as "serious and unprecedented". According to him, it "probably originated in Spain".
Disturbances in the south of France
Regions in the south of France also experienced temporary disruptions, but the authorities claim that service was quickly restored thanks to rapid intervention.
Large urban centers affected
The blackout affected several densely populated urban areas. In Spain, major centers included Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Avila, Murcia, Galicia, Alicante and. In Portugal, the two largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, were affected.
50 million inhabitants
The Iberian Peninsula is home to over 50 million people. However, the authorities refused to specify the number of people affected by the power cut.
A "strong oscillation" in the European network
Mr. Sánchez said that a "strong oscillation" in the European network was at the root of the failure, but that the cause was still being determined. Several officials also ruled out the possibility of sabotage: "At this stage, there is nothing to indicate that this was a cyber attack", said the President of the European Council, António Costa, via the X platform.
Interconnections with France and Morocco
The Spanish Prime Minister also revealed that supplies had been partially restored thanks to interconnections with France and Morocco.interconnections with France and Morocco, and that gas and hydroelectric power plants have "been reactivated throughout the country".
Tens of thousands of passengers stranded
Due to the blackout, offices closed and traffic was disrupted in major cities on Monday. In addition, trains ground to a halt in both countries, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.
Cell phone networks inaccessible
According to Euronews, in Madrid, hundreds of people were waiting for a bus to the airport and trying to hitchhike. Some held up improvised signs to persuade drivers to take them.
Airport delays
With cell phone networks largely inaccessible, citizens were unable to make calls or send SMS messages.
Tourists on hold
Spanish airports were forced to use back-up power sources, causing delays to some flights, according to Aena, which manages 56 airports in Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. However, the Spanish Prime Minister stressed in the evening that only 344 of the 6,000 flights scheduled in the country on Monday had been cancelled.
Lisbon
in Lisbon, terminals were closed and tourists had to wait outside for flight updates.