5 Things to Know About the Spain and Portugal Blackouts

Massive power outages have affected huge areas of the two countries on the Iberian Peninsula.

A man with a flashlight leads the way as a subway station lies in darkness during a power outage in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 28, 2025. Adri Salido/Getty Images

Huge power outages hit Spain and Portugal, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power on April 28.

Traffic was thrown into chaos across the Iberian Peninsula, flights were grounded, and some hospitals canceled routine procedures as authorities raced to restore power.

The precise cause of the outages remains unknown.

When Did the Power Go Down?

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions just after midday local time, leaving its newsroom, Spain’s parliament in Madrid, and subway stations across the country without power.

A graph on Spain’s electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a massive decline around 12:15 p.m. from 27,500 megawatts to nearly 15,000 megawatts.

Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems, and some flights were delayed, according to Aena, the company that runs 46 airports in the country, including Madrid and Barcelona.

In Portugal, the outage hit the capital, Lisbon, and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts of the country.

Portuguese police placed more officers on duty to direct traffic and cope with increased calls for aid, including from people trapped in elevators.

What Has Been the Response?

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened a meeting of Spain’s National Security Council and visited Red Eléctrica, the company that runs the national grid.

Giving an update to the Spanish people on the evening of April 28, Sánchez said there was still no conclusive information yet on the cause of the blackout.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he has spoken to Sanchez several times and expected power to be restored by the end of the day on April 28.

The Portuguese cabinet held an emergency meeting at Montenegro’s residence, with the government in Lisbon saying the outage appeared to have resulted from problems outside Portugal.

“It looks like it was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. It’s still being ascertained,” Cabinet Minister Leitão Amaro told national news agency Lusa.

The European Commission said it was in contact with authorities in Spain and Portugal and European network of transmission system operator ENTSO-E to try to establish the cause of the outage.

What Have Electricity Companies Said?

Red Eléctrica confirmed power outages across the country.

In a statement on social media platform X, the company said that “plans to restore the electricity supply have been activated.”

The firm said that the power outage in Spain is “exceptional and extraordinary” and could take “up to 10 hours to repair.”

Portugal’s Public Security Police warned that, given the lack of electricity across the country, traffic would become “an even greater challenge.”

French grid operator RTE said that homes in the French Basque Country were without power for a few minutes but that all power has been restored.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes, whose site was down and under maintenance at the time of the blackout, said the outage was caused by “a problem with the European electricity system,” according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

What Services Have Been Affected?

Spain’s state‐owned railway company, RENFE, reported that its trains lost power and that services across all stations were suspended.

People have been unable to withdraw cash from ATMs, and stores selling generators have sold out as customers lined up to buy them.

Hospitals in Madrid and Catalonia in Spain suspended routine medical procedures but were still attending to critical patients through the use of backup generators.

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was also suspended.

It was not possible to make calls on mobile phone networks in Portugal, though some apps were working.

Portuguese airport operator ANA said airports activated emergency generators, which allow essential airport operations to be maintained at Porto and Faro airports.

“In Lisbon, operations are ongoing but with limitations. So far, there have been no impacts on Madeira and Azores airports,” it said.

What Caused the Outage?

The cause of the outage remains unclear, with authorities in neither Spain nor Portugal yet able to conclusively pinpoint what went wrong.

Portuguese authorities, however, have stated that the failure appeared to have occurred across the border in Spain.

The nation’s grid operator, REN, said that it couldn’t say when power would be fully restored.

Sanchez said in a national address that a problem in the European grid that he described as a “strong oscillation” was behind the outage but that the cause was still being determined.

“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,” he said.

“For the time being, there’s no evidence of any civil protection problems. I repeat, there are no problems of insecurity.”

He said Spain’s national security council would meet again on the evening of April 28 to take further stock of the situation.

Owen Evans contributed to this report.