Widespread Power Outage Affects Spain and Portugal
A monumental power outage left Spain and Portugal in darkness on April 28, 2025. This unexpected blackout caused train, phone, and internet networks to fall, clogged roads, and trapped people within elevators.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced, following an emergency government meeting, that they had no definitive information about the blackout's causes. He warned the public against speculating due to the risk of misinformation. As night fell, only around 35% of Spain's power capacity had been restored, according to the REE electricity operator.
Portugal's capital Lisbon was plunged into darkness as well, but power was restored for around 750,000 customers in the country. The situation was expected to normalize "shortly," according to Portugal's REN operator.
"People were taken aback, as this had never happened in Spain," said Carlos Candori, a 19-year-old construction worker who had exited the gridlocked metro system in Madrid. "There's no coverage, I can't call my family, my parents, nothing: I can't even go to work."
In Madrid and elsewhere, panicked citizens rushed to withdraw cash from banks, and streets filled with crowds trying in vain to get mobile signals. Long lines formed for taxis and buses.
As a precaution, play was cancelled at the Madrid Open tennis tournament for the remainder of the day. With traffic lights knocked out, police attempted to navigate congested streets. Authorities urged motorists to avoid driving, but weakened communication channels made this challenging.
Some individuals were trapped in elevators or inside garages, and rescue operations were carried out to free those trapped inside the elevators in the Madrid region. Spain's premier, Sanchez, urged citizens to exhibit "responsibility and civility."
Spain's railway operator Adif halted trains across the country. Spain's nuclear power plants also automatically shut down as a safety precaution, with diesel generators maintaining them in a "safe condition."
Sanchez stated that the blackout had caused "serious disruption" for millions and "economic losses in businesses, in companies, and industries." However, he emphasized that grid technicians were working to remedy "the problem as soon as possible," and limited phone usage to avoid overburdening the network.
The European Commission contacted Spain and Portugal over the situation, but there were no indications of a cyberattack, according to European Council President Antonio Costa. The head of operations for Spain's grid operator Red Electrica anticipated repairs would take six to ten hours to restore power to the country, "if all goes well."
Portugal's REN operator suggested that the entire Iberian peninsula was affected, impacting 48 million people in Spain and 10.5 million in Portugal. An estimated 60% drop in Spain's power demand (15 gigawatts) occurred within seconds due to the blackout, leading to widespread transportation, communication, and banking service disruptions.
Images shared on social media demonstrated metro stations in Madrid shrouded in darkness, trains halted, and individuals throughout offices and hallways using the light from their phones to see their surroundings. The internet activity monitoring site NetBlocks reported a "loss of much of the country's digital infrastructure," with web connections dropping to just 17% of normal usage.
Reports indicate that hospitals utilized backup generators to sustain critical units during the outage, though some other areas were left without power. Massive power outages have affected various countries in recent years, with numerous instances occurring in Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Uruguay, India, and several European nations.
- In the midst of the blackout, Carlos Candori, a construction worker in Madrid, expressed his surprise, stating, "This had never happened in Spain before."
- With no internet coverage, Candori found himself in a difficult situation, unable to contact his family, work, or even make calls.
- As panic ensued, people rushed to banks to withdraw cash, clogging streets with crowds trying to get mobile signals.
- The unexpected power outage caused significant disruption to the tech sector, with Spain's railway operator Adif halting trains across the country and Spain's nuclear power plants automatically shutting down.
- The Blackout had a major impact on the general-news and politics landscape, with Sanchez stressing the need for "responsibility and civility" during the crisis.
- The European Commission reached out to both Spain and Portugal, but, as of yet, there's been no clear indication that the blackout was caused by a cyberattack.
