Today (Monday), an unusually extensive power outage was reported across Spain and Portugal, with major cities including the capitals Madrid and Lisbon among those affected. As a result of the outage, train services were suspended, traffic lights stopped working, and significant disruptions occurred at airports. Spain’s national electricity company, Red Eléctrica, announced that the outage stemmed from a severe malfunction, with repairs expected to take between six and ten hours.
Transportation Disruptions
Widespread outages were reported in Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville. The malfunction led to a halt in train operations, and passengers were evacuated from the Madrid metro. Major delays were recorded at airports across Spain, and the airline TAP urged travelers to avoid coming to the airport. In Madrid, heavy traffic jams developed as traffic lights went dark.
Red Eléctrica, the operator of the national power grid in Spain, reports that the ongoing power outage seen in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France is “exceptional and extraordinary” with full restoration expected to take between 6-10 hours. Adding that they will not speculate at… pic.twitter.com/GyyRmU1DT3
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 28, 2025
BREAKING : Spain, Portugal and a few other EU countries are in total blackout.
Train passengers in Spain got stuck in the middle of nowhere. This is insane.
(This video is from a friend of mine) pic.twitter.com/i7FObGPngS
— Solana Sensei (@SolanaSensei) April 28, 2025
Concerns of a Cyberattack
The governments of Spain and Portugal held emergency meetings to assess the situation, but authorities have not yet identified the cause of the regional failure. Concerns have arisen that the outage may have resulted from a cyberattack. According to the Portuguese electricity company E-Redes, the incident was “a malfunction in the European power grid,” with effects also reported in France.
In Madrid, residents gathered on balconies and around radios in an effort to stay informed. Media outlets recommended that people prepare flashlights ahead of nightfall, warning that the outage could continue for many more hours.
The blackout affected tens of millions of people, with Spain and Portugal home to more than 50 million residents. At this stage, the full extent of the damage caused by the outage remains unclear.
