No “definitive reasons” have been found for a major power outage affecting huge swathes of Spain and Portugal, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has said.
The huge power outage on Monday brought large parts of the Iberian peninsula to a standstill, grounding planes, halting public transport, and leaving the two countries scrambling to restore power to millions of homes and businesses.
People were warned telecommunications were at a “critical juncture” and urged to make short calls and only use the emergency phone 112 when necessary.
Some hospitals halted routine work, while shops shut their doors early.
“We do not yet have conclusive information on the reasons for this (power) cut, so I ask the people, as we have done in past crises, to inform themselves through official channels,” Sanchez said in a national address on Monday evening. “For the time being, there’s no evidence of any civil protection problems. I repeat, there are no problems of insecurity.”
Parts of southern France were also affected for a short time before power was restored.
What was the impact of power cuts?
Monday’s power outage left people trapped in lifts and stuck on trains for hours, while others began long walks home from work as they were unable to use public transport.
Many supermarkets in Lisbon shut early, but in a supermarket in Madrid, shoppers were stocking up on water, eggs, milk and tinned food, with some shelves completely emptied.
A man waits for the metro station in Madrid to be opened during the outage. (Reuters)
Many stores and taxis in Madrid were no longer accepting electronic payments, and some local shops were giving credit to frequent customers.
Meanwhile messaging services began registering pleas from people in Spain stuck in elevators.
“The worst thing was not knowing how long I was going to be there,” said one person who was stuck in a lift for an hour
Police officers stand guard as people queue for buses at Cibeles Square in Madrid. (Reuters)
Police were conducting traffic at some major junctions because the lights had stopped working, and many roads were gridlocked.
Major events, including tennis’ Madrid Open, were also affected, with play suspended for the rest of the day and evening.
Hospitals in Madrid and Cataluna in Spain suspended all routine medical work but were still attending to critical patients, using backup generators.
Several Spanish oil refineries were shut down and some retail businesses closed in both countries, including grocery chain Lidl and furniture giant IKEA.
The Bank of Spain said electronic banking was functioning “adequately” on backup systems, though residents also reported ATM screens had gone blank.
People wait outside a terminal at Lisbon Airport. (Reuters)
In a video posted on X, Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida urged city residents to minimise their journeys and stay where they were, adding: “It is essential that the emergency services can circulate.”
What caused the blackouts?
Portuguese grid operator REN (Rede Eletrica Nacional) said on Monday afternoon that it believed the power outage was caused by a rare atmospheric phenomenon in Spain due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of the country.
However, later in the evening, Spain’s PM Sánchez said the reasons were not yet clear, telling a press conference: “We do not have definitive reasons for this outage. It is better to not speculate. We will know the causes and we haven’t discarded any possibilities but now we should focus on the most important, to restore electricity to our homes.”
In the backdrop of unsubstantiated rumours flying around social media, the European Council said there were no indications the power outage was caused by a cyber attack.
People in Park Manzanares as Madrid Open tennis matches were suspended due to a power outage. (Reuters)
How long could the power outage last?
REN said that the full restoration of the country’s electricity grid could take up to a week, but that it was “impossible” to tell for sure.
Earlier, the head of Spain’s electricity grid operator, Red Electrica, said it could take between six to 10 hours.
The partly-state owned company said some areas in the west, south and north already had power restored.
Yahoo’s live coverage has paused for this evening and will re-start on Tuesday morning
Live39 updates
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 11:00 am GMT-7
How electricity grids fail – and why restoring Spain and Portugal’s power will be a nightmare
Passengers wait at a train station during a nationwide power outage in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Monday. (AP)
We rarely think about how essential and reliable electricity grids are until they fail.
Now, millions of people across Spain, Portugal and parts of France are likely thinking of little else.
While local power cuts are fairly common, what’s happened across the Iberian peninsula is something far more extreme.
Much of Spain and Portugal’s electricity transmission system collapsed in seconds including in major cities Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.
Read the full story from Sky News.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:50 am GMT-7
How Spain and Portugal’s economies could be hit by the blackout
Many workers were forced to leave their posts in Spain and Portugal on Monday after a major power cut affected phone lines, internet access, card payments, and left citizens without light…
“Essentially, the Spanish economy is shut down for the day and that means that businesses will take a short-term hit, but ultimately the total disruption will probably be marginal provided that the power comes back relatively soon,” Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at Ballinger Group, told Euronews.
Operator REN said that, in a worst-case scenario, it could take up to a week for normal services to return.
Read the full story from euronews.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:40 am GMT-7
What’s going on in Spain and Portugal and will it affect flights?
Spain and Portugal have both been hit by a major power cut which has knocked out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATMs.
Madrid and Lisbon have both been affected by the incident that has been flagged by Spanish generator Red Electrica – which said the outage could last up to 10 hours.
The countries have a combined population of more than 50 million, but it was not immediately clear how many were affected.
Read the full story from the Evening Standard.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:30 am GMT-7
Spain and Portugal work to restore power after widespread blackout impacts Iberian Peninsula
Spectators roam inside the Madrid Open tennis tournament venue during a general blackout in Madrid. (AP)
Power is gradually beginning to be restored across Spain after a widespread power outage earlier on Monday, the national grid operator has said.
Red Eléctrica said power is available again in northern Spain following the national outage, which also affected Portugal, Andorra and parts of France.
The grid operator didn’t say how long it would take to resume full service across the network, but warned customers it would take time, with around half of the national grid currently re-energised.
Read the full story from euronews.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:20 am GMT-7
OPINION: The Iberian outage is a warning to the UK
OPINION: The massive power cuts that affected Spain and Portugal are a reminder of how vulnerable modern society is to a collapse in the electricity grid for whatever reason, The Telegraph says.
Everything stopped, from supermarket checkouts to air traffic control systems. Rail transport on the Iberian peninsula was paralysed for hours. On the roads, traffic lights failed causing huge jams while in Madrid the Metro closed its stations. The mobile phone and internet networks collapsed while shops shut when their electronic tills failed.
Read the full story from The Telegraph.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:13 am GMT-7
People left ‘trapped in lifts’ and ‘ stuck on trains’ amid outage
People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain. (AP)
A major power outage in Spain and Portugal left people trapped in lifts and stuck on trains, while others stocked up on basics in supermarkets or began long walks home from work, Reuters reported.
At Atocha, one of Madrid’s main railway stations, passengers stood waiting on platforms with trains at a standstill. ATM screens were blank and police were trying to herd people towards central gathering points.
Ana Cordero, a tourist from Puerto Rico, was just departing Madrid for Barcelona when the power failed. She and her boyfriend were trapped on the train for three hours.
“After about an hour the train’s (emergency) battery died and then – that’s it, the bathrooms weren’t working,” she told Reuter. “It’s so stupid because everything was electronic, even to wash your hands.”
Eventually their train was evacuated and passengers walked back to the station along the tracks.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 10:03 am GMT-7
Power production restored at two plants, Portugal’s REN says
Portugal’s electricity distributor REN said on Monday it had restored production at both a hydroelectric and thermoelectric plant amid operations to revive the national grid after a widespread outage.
It added that such operations were “particularly complex compared to Spain” because Portugal was relying solely on its national resources instead of contributions from France and Morocco.
REN said it was prioritising restoring supply to priority consumption points such as hospitals, security forces, airports, railways and roads.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 9:53 am GMT-7
We do not have definitive reasons for this outage, says Spain’s PM
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said there was no clear reason behind the power cuts as yet. (PA)
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez has said it is not clear what caused the power outage that hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France today.
Sánchez said: “We do not have definitive reasons for this outage. As such, I am asking citizens to inform themselves through official channels, as we have during other crises. It is better to not speculate. We will know the causes and we haven’t discarded any possibilities but now we should focus on the most important, to restore electricity to our homes.”
He added that there are extra security forces deployed but “there are no security problems” up to now.
“Our hospital system is working without problems and has significant autonomy,” he said, referring to back-up generators that have been powering emergency services.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 9:40 am GMT-7
Spain’s nuclear reactors prepare for reconnection to grid
The operators of Spain’s nuclear reactors are preparing to reconnect to the power grid as they recover their external electricity supply, the country’s nuclear safety council has said.
The only exception is the Trillo plant, which is shut down for refueling, the council added.
The nuclear safety council had said earlier that the reactors were in safe condition after a power blackout hit the country.
Four reactors stopped operating automatically after the outage, after which emergency generators kicked in.
For three reactors that weren’t in operation at the time, emergency generators also started working to keep them in a safe condition, the council said.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 9:19 am GMT-7
Tourists ‘trapped on train for three hours unable to use toilet’
Ana Cordero, a tourist from Puerto Rico, has told how she was taking the train from Madrid to Barcelona when the power failed.
Recalling how she and her boyfriend were trapped on the train for three hours, she said: “After about an hour the train’s (emergency) battery died and then – that’s it.
“The bathrooms weren’t working. It’s so stupid because everything was electronic, even to wash your hands.”
Eventually their train was evacuated and passengers walked back to the station along the tracks. She said they had nowhere in Madrid to stay and was worried that hotel prices would be “up, up, up”.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 9:10 am GMT-7
Spanish grid operator still far from full recovery, data shows
More than five hours into the blackout, and with around three hours to go until the sun sets in Madrid, Spain’s grid operator still has a lot of work to do before power supplies are fully restored.
UPDATE: Spain / Portugal blackout.
It’s ~5 hours since the blackout started. Load has risen a tiny bit to ~12 GW in Spain (a recovery of ~1.5 GW since 12.35pm local time when it started). The grid operator still has another >10 GW to recover.
Sunset in Madrid is in ~3 hours. pic.twitter.com/oSONfTrTlq
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) April 28, 2025
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 9:01 am GMT-7
Play at Madrid Open cancelled for rest of the day and evening
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov returns the ball to Britain’s Jacob Fearnley before their match was called off. (Getty Images)
Play at the Madrid Open has been cancelled for the rest of Monday after the whole of the Spanish capital was affected by the power outage.
The blackout forced 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and his British opponent Jacob Fearnley off court as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power.
The round of 32 match at the Manolo Santana Stadium where Dimitrov led Fearnley 6-4 5-4 had to be stopped due to a spidercam being left hanging too close to the court.
“The nationwide power cut experienced in Spain on Monday 28 April has forced the cancellation of both the day and night sessions,” the Madrid Open posted on X.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff, who beat Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals, had her post-match interview at the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium cut short with the microphone losing power.
Electronic line calling systems were also affected by the power cut, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) said, while spectators shared pictures of dark hallways at the Manzanares Park Tennis Centre.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 8:34 am GMT-7
Travellers To Spain And Portugal Urged Not To Make Costly Mistake
Rory Boland advises those due to travel in the next few days to check advice from airports, tour operators or airlines online. (Getty Images)
Rory Boland, editor of customer advocacy publication Which? Travel, said: “The power outages in Spain and Portugal will have a significant knock-on effect for those travelling to and from both countries.”
But if you have booked holidays in any affected areas in the next few days or weeks, the consumer advocate said it’s important not to cancel your trip.
“If your flight or holiday is several days or weeks away, the best advice is to not cancel as you will lose money and won’t be able to claim via travel insurance,” Boland shared.
Read the full story from HuffPost
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 8:21 am GMT-7
Airports and train networks decimated in Spain-Portugal power outage
Transport systems are unravelling in Spain and Portugal following massive power cuts across the Iberian peninsula. The electricity supply in both countries appears to have shut down at around 12.30pm local time – hitting everything from traffic lights to trains, including underground railways. While the cause of the shutdown is still not clear, the impact on travellers is all too evident.
Spain is by far the biggest draw of any overseas country for British holidaymakers, and Portugal is also very popular. At least half a million UK tourists are in those countries.
Read the full story from The Independent.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 8:14 am GMT-7
IKEA stores in Spain switch to back-up generators
Large IKEA stores in Spain are running on back-up generators. (Getty Images)
IKEA’s big stores in Spain have switched to backup generators and are not allowing new customers in amid a power outage affecting large parts of Spain and Portugal, IKEA franchisee Ingka Group said on Monday.
IKEA’s smaller city stores and pick-up points in Spain are temporarily closed, a spokesperson for the global furniture retailer said in a statement.
“We are letting our customers and co-workers stay in our stores in case they have no transportation options,” they said.
In Portugal, all IKEA stores are closed and will not reopen today, they added.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 8:07 am GMT-7
Graph shows power consumption drop amid blackout
A graph shows the power consumption drop in Spain as the blackout occurred.
Graph shows power use drop in Spain amid outage. (Red Electrica)
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 7:55 am GMT-7
‘Rare atmospheric phenomenon’ caused power outage, grid operator says
A rare atmospheric phenomenon in Spain due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of the country caused power outages across the Iberian Peninsula, Portuguese grid operator REN said. The company added that the full restoration of the country’s electricity grid could take up to a week.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 7:52 am GMT-7
Footage shows traffic lights out and metro in darkness amid power cuts
Footage shows traffic lights out, and darkness on the metro amid power cuts.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 7:40 am GMT-7
Shops imposing limits on water
Some supermarkets are reportedly imposing limits on how much water their customers can buy as the power outage continue. Sky News reported Mercadona supermarket in Castellon was limiting bottles of water to five per person.
- Mon 28 April 2025 at 7:24 am GMT-7
‘We knew it had to be something big’ woman says as power outage continues
A woman in Porto has described the moment power went out in her building.
Sara Diogo Mateus told Yahoo News: “It was around 11:30am, we were sitting at my mum’s flat and the entire building’s power had gone out. I thought it was maybe just the building but then we got a call saying that there was no power within 50 miles.
“When we spoke to people who lived quite far away who said they were impacted as much as us, we knew it had to be something big.”
She added that some shops in the area have remained open, while others are closed. The family has bought a battery powered radio to keep up with the news.