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Spain’s aging power grid may not be able to handle the country’s growing energy output, energy expert Carlos Cagigal warned on Spanish television, adding that the April 28 widespread blackout is likely a sign of more to come.
“People need to prepare, because it’s going to happen again in the coming months,” he said. While the exact cause remains under investigation, Cagigal pointed to unstable voltage and sudden power surges as likely triggers behind the collapse. Without large-scale energy storage, which he estimates could take two years to implement, Spain may remain vulnerable to future outages.
Several European nations struggled on April 28 to cope with massive power outages that plunged parts of the continent into darkness. Chaos erupted in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, as authorities scrambled to restore power amidst a severe blackout. Homes, offices, streetlights, public transportation, and more suddenly lost power, while authorities attempted to understand what had happened and, more importantly, how to fix it. Rumors of a potential security breach, namely a cyberattack, caused panic among citizens who rushed to fuel their cars and stock up on essentials, reminiscent of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Click through this gallery for a closer look at the day part of Europe was literally left in the dark.
Government leaders in Spain and Portugal scrambled to find a solution to a mysterious network issue that left both countries in the dark.
Spain’s electric network, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), said the nation faced “el cero” – the zero, as authorities rushed to rescue trapped people.
Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), the Portuguese electric network, noted that the mass power outage occurred at 11:33am Western European summer time.
By mid-afternoon, the Spanish operator, reported that power was beginning to be restored to several areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
Flights, trains, and most transportation was disrupted in Spain and Portugal yesterday, leaving travelers confused and at the whims of an eventual restoration of power.
Public transportation was halted as people waited in long lines attempting to return to their homes.
Spain's President Pedro Sanchez announced a state of emergency in eight regions.
Portuguese prime minister, Luís Montenegro, blamed the issue on a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” had caused an imbalance in temperatures.
REN announced: “Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration’."
Due to these variations, according to network operators, there were failures between electrical systems, leading to disruptions throughout the European electricity network.
According to Bruegel, a Brussels think tank, the system faced “cascading disconnections of power plants," when the grid frequency of the grid dropped below 50Hz, the European standard.
Former Portuguese prime minister and current European Council president, António Costa, cautioned the rumor mill, noting “there is no evidence that it was a cyber-attack."
While there are many theories about what caused the outage, the nations continue without certainty. Spain’s national security council convened to assess the possible causes of the outage.
Overnight, electricity was restored in several areas, reporting that 99.16% of power had been returned to Spain as of April 29, 2025, morning.
Portugal's grid operator reported that approximately 6.2 million out of 6.5 million households also had power again by the next morning.
Yet, the effects of the outage continue to impact the nations as operators attempt to configure all the travel disruptions from the outage.
Airports were operating on backup generators, but about 200 flights were canceled, mostly out of Lisbon, yesterday.
The outage also caused many flights from Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville, to be cancelled or delayed.
The sudden blackout affected tens of millions of people for hours, leaving many without access to basic essentials, Wi-Fi or mobile network.
The Spanish Prime Minister noted that the Spain is “analyzing all the potential causes without discarding any hypothesis.”
Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Centre noted there was no evidence that the outage resulted from a cyber-attack.
Executive vice president of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, noted the outage “one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times”.
Despite a restoration of power throughout Spain, the nation remains in a state of emergency.
Medical services were severely impacted in some parts of Spain and Portugal. Without generators, some people lost access to critical devices like insulin storage, dialysis, and oxygen.
In Spain, about 35,000 passengers stranded on public transportation were rescued by emergency workers.
Spain's REE blamed the outage on a connection failure with France for triggering a cascading grid failure.
"The extent of the loss of power was beyond what European systems are designed to handle and caused a disconnection of the Spanish and French grids, which in turn led to the collapse of the Spanish electric system," Eduardo Prieto of REE said.
Many in Spain and Portugal were forced to retire home early from work, with many filling the streets during the day hours and using candlelight in the evening.
Power outages like this are rare in Europe. In 2003, a failure of a hydroelectric power line between Italy and Switzerland provoked a similar outage across Italy.
Sources: (Reuters) (The Guardian) (EuroNews)
See also: What to do during a power outage
'It’s going to happen again': Expert warns of more blackouts after Europe’s power crisis
Spain’s energy infrastructure may be too outdated to handle rising output, expert says
LIFESTYLE Portugal
Spain’s aging power grid may not be able to handle the country’s growing energy output, energy expert Carlos Cagigal warned on Spanish television, adding that the April 28 widespread blackout is likely a sign of more to come.
“People need to prepare, because it’s going to happen again in the coming months,” he said. While the exact cause remains under investigation, Cagigal pointed to unstable voltage and sudden power surges as likely triggers behind the collapse. Without large-scale energy storage, which he estimates could take two years to implement, Spain may remain vulnerable to future outages.
Several European nations struggled on April 28 to cope with massive power outages that plunged parts of the continent into darkness. Chaos erupted in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, as authorities scrambled to restore power amidst a severe blackout. Homes, offices, streetlights, public transportation, and more suddenly lost power, while authorities attempted to understand what had happened and, more importantly, how to fix it. Rumors of a potential security breach, namely a cyberattack, caused panic among citizens who rushed to fuel their cars and stock up on essentials, reminiscent of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Click through this gallery for a closer look at the day part of Europe was literally left in the dark.