Portugal experiences power outages, leaving citizens in the dark.
When the lights went out unexpectedly on a Monday, folks figured it was a local glitch. But as the hours ticked by and the power stayed off, it became clear that this outage was no ordinary blip—it was impacting Portugal, Spain, and sections of France. Rumors swirled about potential causes like atmospheric disturbances, wildfires, or even cyber-attacks.
As people realized they weren’t returning to work any time soon, they packed up and headed home. However, the chaos didn't end there—traffic lights were malfunctioning, and transportation systems were at a standstill.
Transportation Woes
In Lisbon and Porto, the metro systems ground to a halt. Airports across the nation grappled with delays and cancellations, with issues at Lisbon airport persisting as late as Wednesday. One frustrated traveler shared their experience on our site: "I've been stuck in Lisbon since Monday, waiting two days now for my luggage that disappeared during the Frankfurt flight (LH1166). I tried calling the airline and luggage provider Menzies Aviation (based in London) all day, but their phone lines were down. I went to the airport, but it was closed all day. I was told to come back at 10 pm. When I did, staff told me Lufthansa was using Menzies Aviation, which wasn't operational that day. People had been waiting for two days with life-saving medicines in their luggage. Over ten Menzies Aviation employees walked past us, seemingly ignoring us."
Communications Standstill
As the day wore on, it was evident that the power outage was wreaking havoc on not only the phone network but also the internet, leaving millions without the ability to contact loved ones or access information. The lack of phone communication also made reaching emergency services difficult. Another reader shared their harrowing story with us: "My friends and I went to the beach, and one of them got into trouble in the sea. We tried to call 112, but there was no response. Our friend was eventually rescued by beachgoers, and we managed to find a GNR officer who was able to radio for an ambulance to care for our friend. It was terrifying."
By 7:45 am on Tuesday, the national E-Redes network operator announced that all electricity services in Portugal had been "fully restored and normalized." They described the blackout as an "absolutely exceptional event" with an external origin.
As Portugal and Spain work to regain normalcy, questions linger about the source of the blackout, which, at the time of publication, remains undisclosed by Portuguese and Spanish authorities.
What Sparked the Blackout?
When asked about the possibility of an excess of renewable energy being the cause, REN director João Faria Conceição entertained the idea but emphasized it was not the only possibility. "It appears that, according to the Spanish authorities, cyber issues have been ruled out, so now we must focus on exactly what happened," he stated.
João Faria Conceição added that renewable energies are "a safe energy source" with unique characteristics—specifically, their volatility—that must be accounted for in the management of any electrical system to mitigate their effects.
The head of REN warned that the blackout that occurred on this Monday and affected Portugal, Spain, and southern France was "absolutely extraordinary," but stressed that "there is not zero risk" of the situation repeating itself.
Originally from the UK, Daisy, who has been residing and working in Portugal for more than two decades, has worked in PR, marketing, and journalism. She has been the editor of our website since 2019.
In April 2025, a massive blackout swept across the Iberian Peninsula, including Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and parts of southern France, impacting over 60 million people. This was the most extensive power outage in European Union history[3][5].
The blackout was triggered by a sudden loss of generation capacity—approximately 15 gigawatts detached from the grid in just five seconds, leading to a total system collapse. Critical shortage of synchronous generation, grid faults or fires, low inertia due to renewables, and maintenance outages were some of the factors identified as contributing to the incident[3][5]. While renewables played a role, they were not solely to blame for the blackout, as the root issue was the combination of high renewable penetration, insufficient synchronous backup, and a triggering grid fault[5].
- The chaos due to the power outage affected Portugal, Spain, and sections of France, causing significant disruptions in transportation systems, including metro systems in Lisbon and Porto, and delays and cancellations at airports across the nation.
- The blackout also caused a communications standstill, leaving millions without the ability to contact loved ones or access information, making it difficult to reach emergency services. One reader shared a harrowing story about not being able to call for help when a friend got into trouble at the beach.
- As Portugal and Spain work to investigate the source of the blackout, questions linger, and officials are considering various possibilities, including the excess of renewable energy. Renewable energies, while generally safe, have unique characteristics that can affect electrical systems, and the head of REN warned that there is not zero risk of a similar incident occurring again.
