Massive Blackout Paralyzes Spain and Portugal

On Monday, April 28, a total blackout paralyzed the entire Spanish mainland and Portugal, affecting the entire Iberian Peninsula and millions of residents.

Unprecedented Blackout

The blackout began around 12:30 p.m. local time, disrupting daily life across major cities including Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Seville. The unprecedented power outage caused chaos on roads and public transport. Subways and trains stopped working, and people were trapped in elevators for hours. Telecommunication networks were also severely impacted, leaving many without mobile or internet service.

An American couple traveling in Spain told us that they first noticed signs of the blackout when leaving their condo: the electrical gate remained open. Neighbors on the street mentioned that the lights were no longer working. Shops and restaurants began closing their doors, and outside of the cities, few people remained on the streets.

Unlike in America and other countries, power outages are very rare in Europe. Western Europe, in particular, has a very dense and stable electricity network that can typically handle anomalies. Therefore, it is quite unusual for a blackout to occur on such a large scale in Western Europe.

Cyberattack?

It is still unclear what caused this major blackout on the Iberian Peninsula. Given how rare such events are, rumors initially spread suggesting a cyberattack might be responsible. The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, and the increased cyber threats, fueled that theory — although it has not been confirmed.

However, Portuguese authorities stated that the outage was likely caused by a very rare weather phenomenon in the atmosphere. Spanish authorities reported that a “strong oscillation” in the European electricity grid led to the disconnection of Spain’s power system from the rest of Europe. The exact cause of the outage is still under investigation.

Restoration

The American couple informed us that they regained electricity around 8 p.m. in northern Spain, where they were staying. For most people, the power outage lasted about 8 hours.

Efforts to restore power began incrementally from 1 p.m., with electricity being sourced from neighboring countries such as France and Morocco, as well as increased domestic production. By late Monday, power had started returning to parts of the Iberian Peninsula, although full restoration was estimated to take up to a week.