Massive Power Outage in Spain: Portugal and France Also Affected

Update: After the massive power outage in Spain, the supply has been restored in parts of the country. As the grid operator Red Eléctrica announced on Monday, the power supply has been restored in "several areas in the north, south, and west" of the country. Households in these areas could be supplied again. Work is being done to restore power throughout the country.

In all of Spain and Portugal as well as in southwestern France, power went out on Monday afternoon for reasons that are still unclear. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened a crisis meeting of the government in Madrid. The population was urged to stay in place to avoid traffic chaos. Rail traffic was temporarily paralyzed throughout the country.

The restoration of supply in Spain is progressing. In Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias, Navarre, Castile and León, Extremadura, and Andalusia, the supply has been restored, reported Red Eléctrica on X. Previously, the operator had already announced that the supply in several areas in the north, south, and west of the peninsula was now secured.

Millions of people were affected, the grid operators reported. The cause was initially unclear. In Spain, the power outage completely paralyzed rail traffic: A blackout led to "the interruption of rail traffic across the entire network," announced the Spanish rail network operator Adif on the online service X. According to the power grid operator Red Eléctrica, the restoration of the power supply could take six to ten hours.

In all of Spain and Portugal as well as in southwestern France, power went out on Monday afternoon for reasons that are still unclear. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened a crisis meeting of the government in Madrid. The population was urged to stay in place to avoid traffic chaos. Medium and long-distance trains continued not to run. "A resumption of medium and long-distance traffic is currently not foreseeable," announced Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente on X. Travelers would have to forgo their journeys for the time being.

Red Eléctrica advised against speculating about the cause of the power outage. Currently, there are no indications of a cyberattack, explained the EU Council President from Portugal, António Costa, on the online service X.

Power Outage in Spain, Portugal, and France

The Spanish power grid operator Red Eléctrica also reported on X that it had succeeded in restoring the power supply in the north and south of the country. "We are activating" the "plans to restore the power supply in collaboration with the companies in the sector" after the "system failure of the peninsula," explained Red Eléctrica. The restoration of supply could take between six and ten hours, said the head of the maintenance department of Red Eléctrica, Eduardo Prieto, to the radio station Cadena Ser. Prieto advised against speculating about the cause of the power outage.

The Portuguese grid operator REN stated that "the entire Iberian Peninsula" was affected as well as a part of France. In Portugal, the power supply has been interrupted since 11:33 AM (local time, 12:33 PM CEST). "All plans to restore the energy supply have been activated - in collaboration with European energy producers and operators," added REN.

In the center of the Spanish capital, traffic came to a standstill in parts, as it was further reported. There were long traffic jams because traffic lights had failed. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez went to the headquarters of Red Eléctrica to get an overview of the situation. The Spanish power grid monitoring company E-Redes also stated that they are working to gradually restore the connection. "This is a larger European problem," it was further stated.

The Portuguese police stated that traffic lights were affected throughout the country. In Lisbon and Porto, the subway was closed. Trains were no longer running. Information on the background of the power outage was initially not available.

Hacker Attack Not Ruled Out

Further information on the extent of the power outage and its cause was initially not available. Spain's national cybersecurity agency INCIBE is investigating whether a hacker attack could be behind the power outage, wrote "El País".

In the small state of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees, the power outage lasted only a few seconds, reported the energy supplier FEDA on X. The outage was caused on the Spanish side and the electricity was immediately restored thanks to the "automatic reconnection with the line coming from France".

The EU Commission is in contact with national authorities due to the widespread power outage. "The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that smooth information exchange takes place between all parties involved," the authority in Brussels stated.

Austria Not Affected

The domestic power grid operator Austrian Power Grid (APG) confirmed upon APA request, "that there was a technical incident on the Iberian Peninsula today, April 28, 2025, around 12:31 PM, which obviously resulted in widespread power outages in the region." "The Austrian power supply is and was at no time affected by the incident," it was emphasized.

Currently, work is underway to fully restore power supply in the affected areas. The investigation of the incident will be coordinated through the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSOE). Furthermore, APG has no additional information about the cause or extent, as it was stated.

Power Outage: Ferry and Train Traffic Disrupted Across Spain

The power outage on the Iberian Peninsula has brought train and ferry traffic across Spain to a standstill. The respective operators in the popular holiday country announced this on Monday. The cause of the power outage, which affected not only Spain and Portugal but also parts of France, was initially unclear according to the network operators.

The cause is still being investigated, explained the Spanish network operator Red Eléctrica, which also reported the massive power outage, on the online service X. The Spanish power grid operator Red Eléctrica stated that it is working with energy companies to restore power supply. Parts of the subway in Madrid have been evacuated, radio stations reported.

(APA/Red)

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