Here's what we know about the power cut in Spain
Shortly before 12.30pm on Monday, the power grid suffered a complete blackout in the Iberian peninsula, affecting Portugal and the south of France
Never before in Spain's modern history has the country suffered a blackout of the magnitude of the one that occurred on Monday 28 April 2025, when at around 12.30pm supply throughout the Spain and Portugal fell from 26,695 to 15,970 megawatts.
Affected areas
The outage affected the entire Iberian peninsula, including Portugal and the south of France and Andorra. The supply has been maintained without problems in the Balearics and the Canaries and in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as they are supplied by independent grids.
Cause
The Department of Homeland Security assured on Monday «it is still too early to know what has happened». Government advisers do not rule out a cyber-attack, conventional sabotage or a «large-scale failure». The National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe) confirms that it is already investigating whether there is some kind of cyberattack behind the blackout. The National Cryptologic Centre (CCN), which depends on the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), has also been mobilised. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Spain has become a target for Russian hackers, who have attacked all kinds of infrastructures and institutions. A crisis cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is in charge of the situation.
Geographical origin
According to initial investigations, the cut occurred somewhere in the south of France, near the French town of Perpignan.
Service recovery
Red Eléctrica has begun to "recover power" in the north and south of the peninsula as of 1pm. The company Redeia has indicated that the supply recovery process "involves the gradual energisation of the transmission grid as the generation groups are coupled", explained the operator.
Out of order
The problems caused by the blackout, so far, have been mainly in communications and, above all, in transport. Both Renfe and other rail services, as well as metro services in the major capitals, have seen their services interrupted due to the lack of electricity supply. Airports have been affected, although aircraft have been able to land normally. The failure of traffic lights has also caused serious disruption in towns and cities. The DGT traffic authority has asked people not to use vehicles except in exceptional cases. Most hospitals are operating normally as they have autonomous supply equipment.
