Major blackouts in large areas of Spain and Portugal, as well as parts of southern France, knocked out traffic lights on Monday, disrupting public transport and airport operations.
Authorities did not say it was the cause of the suspension, but some denied foul play.
“Grid operators in both countries [Spain and Portugal] President Antonio Costa, president of the Council of Europe, wrote in X’s post.
Costa was Portugal’s Prime Minister between 2015 and 2024.
“At this point, there are no indications of a cyberattack,” he said.
Here’s what we know:
What happened with Europe?
The blackout swept most of the Iberian Peninsula around 10:30pm local time in Spain, 12:30pm and 12:30pm in Portugal.
Parts of southern France were also temporarily affected, but services quickly recovered.
The critical infrastructure was greatly affected. The metro system in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon was closed, but major airports such as Madrid Vallajas and Hambert Delgado in Lisbon were facing considerable delays and partial closures.
According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, the suspension “returns Spain to the 19th century.”
“The trains are not working, the traffic lights are dropping, causing chaos. Many cities are completely dark,” said Step Wesen of Al Jazeera, reporting from Valencia Airport, Spain.
“Authors say it’s the first time in history that such a massive blackout has occurred,” she added.
Demanda de Energía Eléctricaen tiempo Real. DATOS DE REDEL éctrica Española. Asi Esta la Cosa Ahora, Sieto Horas Despez del Batacazo: Renta Redpelacion, Pero Mui Rejos aung de la Nomaidad. #apagónpic.twitter.com/8vccxsuidn
– April 28, 2025, Jose Maria Montero S (@monteromonti)
Translation: Real-time electricity demand. Red Electrica data. This is how things are now seven hours after the blackout.
The graph shows that electricity usage has dropped from around 26,000 megawatts to just 12,000 in minutes.
Where did the halt occur?
Spain and Portugal, home to about 60 million people together, were the worst affected.
Spain: Major urban centres such as Avila, Madrid, Murcia, Galicia, Alicante, Zaragoza, Barcelona and Seville reported widespread disruption. The Canary and Balea Islands were not affected. Portugal: Lisbon and Porto experienced comparable challenges. Southern France: Some Basque countries in France have seen short blackouts. However, officials with the French power transmission network said the suspension lasted only a few minutes. Morocco: Some reports suggested it Internet provider Morocco Also, due to network connections with France and outages there, it was difficult to maintain their services easily.
What else was affected?
The open tennis tournament in Madrid was suspended that day. Organizers said there would be no further action on Monday “to ensure general safety.”
Madrid firefighters have implemented over 200 “elevator interventions” in the city, and medical services have implemented 167 interventions.
Meanwhile, in Lisbon, local media reports say people rushed to grocery stores to store water and fresh produce.
What caused the power outage?
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said it all points to major blackouts that began in Spain.
The exact cause is still unknown and there is no evidence of a cyberattack yet, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he has not ruled out anything. He warned the speculation, but said, “At this point, I can’t believe the cause.”
The European Union Agency (ENISA), the block’s cybersecurity arm, said current evidence indicates cable failure.
However, experts have also warned in recent weeks that excessive solar power in the grid could lead to power outages. In early April, Belgian electric grid operators warned that too much electricity generation could cause grids to be unstable.
Spain has seen record hours of negative electricity prices over the past few months as more solar and wind energy is being fed to the grid, according to a Bloomberg report. However, up until now, oversupply has not led to power outages.
What’s the latest on the ground?
The grid operator said Monday that electricity has returned to parts of north, south and western Spain.
Spanish Minister of Transport Oscar Puente said it is unlikely that moderate and long-haul train services will resume before tomorrow. Meanwhile, Red Electrica estimates it will take between 6 and 10 hours to fully repair.
Power is currently recovering in parts of Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque states, Galicia, Asturia, Navarra, Castile, Leon, Andalusia and La Rioja, authorities say.
According to Spanish news agency EFE, Spain’s electricity consumption had reached over 50% of its normal level by 4:30pm local time (18:30 GMT).
Portuguese grid operator Len said production has resumed at Castelo’s Bode Hydroelectric Power Plant and Tapada has reopened at Outeiro Thermoelectric Facilities.
As these stations return online, energy consumption has gradually recovered throughout Portugal, starting from areas near the plants and stretching outwards, Ren said.
