Author: PPD Team Date: 30/04/2025
Spain and Portugal began restoring power after experiencing the worst blackout in their history on 28 April 2025.
The outage, which started around 10:33 GMT, caused massive disruptions, including grounding planes, halting public transport, shutting down stores, and forcing the closure of Spanish oil refineries. Hospitals suspended routine operations, while traffic in Madrid came to a standstill.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that Spain’s power grid lost 15 gigawatts of electricity in just five seconds, equivalent to 60% of the country’s national demand. The blackout affected the Iberian Peninsula for several hours, though power began returning by the evening of 29 April. By Monday night, around 61% of power had been restored in Spain, with regions like the Basque Country, Barcelona, and parts of Madrid regaining electricity. In Portugal, 85 of 89 power substations were back online by late Monday.
The exact cause of the outage is still under investigation. Spain’s grid operator REE suggested that the blackout stemmed from a failure in the connection between Spain and France. This disruption led to a breakdown in the Spanish electric system. Portugal, meanwhile, indicated that the issue began in Spain, with a “very large oscillation in electrical voltage” spreading to Portugal’s grid.
Although both governments have not identified a clear cause, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro emphasised that there is no indication of a cyberattack. Despite the severity of the incident, no major injuries have been reported, though hospitals in Madrid and Catalonia relied on backup generators to manage critical care.
The blackout also had a significant impact on internet traffic, with global monitor Cloudflare Radar reporting a 90% drop in internet traffic in Portugal and 80% in Spain.