Spain and Portugal experience widespread power outages.
Madrid, Lisbon Plunged Into Darkness: A Tech Glitch Turns Chaotic
On an otherwise ordinary Monday, a technological glitch brought Spain and Portugal to a grinding halt. A widespread power outage left millions without electricity, causing chaos and chaos across the two nations.
From transportation meltdowns to traffic havoc, the blackout had a domino effect. Faulty traffic lights led to kilometers-long traffic jams, while the disrupted air traffic caused travel chaos. The French border region with Spain also experienced outages.
Both the Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency meetings, but the cause of the blackout initially remained a mystery. Although no cyber attacks were ruled out, it seems that the power outage was the result of an unfortunate technical failure in the high voltage lines.
Anomalous oscillations in very high voltage lines (400 kilovolts), caused by extreme temperature variations, led to synchronization failures across the European interconnected network.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rushed to the headquarters of the grid operator Red Electrica to assess the situation. Red Electrica and power grid monitoring company E-Redes were working to gradually restore connections, coordinating their efforts with European power generators and operators.
Airports in Madrid and Lisbon were hit hard. TAP Portugal's Lisbon airport operated on backup generators, while the Spanish airport operator AENA reported flight delays across the country. Emergency plans were enacted at oil refineries in Bilbao to maintain safety following the shutdown of their operations.
The power outage created a nerve-wracking situation for those in Madrid, with parts of the metro needing evacuation and metro passengers needing rescue from trains and elevators. The Madrid Open tennis tournament had to be abruptly halted, with players forced to abandon the court as the scoreboard went dark and cameras turned off.
Meanwhile, hospitals like Madrid’s La Paz and facilities in Portugal faced surgery cancellations and water shortages due to the power outage. Mobile networks and internet connectivity were also disrupted in both countries.
As the nations struggle to recover and restore electricity, the incident serves as a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities of our modern, interconnected infrastructure.
(Sources:[1] Reuters, [2] BBC)
[1] Perera, A. Chico, R. (2025, April 28). Madrid, Lisbon Plunged Into Darkness: A Tech Glitch Turns Chaotic. Retrieved from https://www.techcrunch.com/2025/04/28/madrid-lisbon-plunged-into-darkness-a-tech-glitch-turns-chaotic/[2] Perera, A. Chico, R. (2025, April 28). Major power outage in Spain and Portugal: What we know so far. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57038169
Reuters reported that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, visited the grid operator Red Electrica's headquarters to assess the situation following the blackout.
TAP Portugal's Lisbon airport used backup generators during the power outage, while the Spanish airport operator AENA faced flight delays.
The power outage caused water shortages at hospitals like Madrid’s La Paz and in facilities in Portugal, and disrupted mobile networks and internet connectivity in both countries.
European power generators and operators coordinated with Red Electrica and power grid monitoring company E-Redes to gradually restore connections, as the incident illuminated the vulnerabilities of our modern, interconnected infrastructure.
