Spaniards and Portuguese again have electricity: What caused energy collapse in Spain and Portugal? – The world

Up to 7 hours local time, more than 99 percent of energy demand in Spain has been renovated, the electricity operator in the country of Red Electrica announced.

The Portuguese network operator REN announced this morning that all 89 substations again online from late last night after a « absolutely unknown » power failure and that electricity was returned for all 6.4 million customers.

Internet connections are still occasionally interrupted, while classes are still suspended in several regions today.

The open championship of Madrid, a tennis tournament that is held this week, remains affected by the power failure after cancellation of the previous day.

Monday night, many residents of the city, including the capital of Spain Madrid, went to sleep in complete darkness. The usual lighting towers of the Sagrala Family Cathedral in Barcelona became unrecognizable in the darkness of the night sky.

The streets remain left and in the fourths where the lights occasionally returned, because people stayed at home after the day of Chaos.

« We have a long night ahead, » said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last night, addressing the European nation. « We work with the aim of restoring electricity supply for the whole country ».

The Madrid Metro System was renovated on all lines except one, which means that 80 percent of trains worked during the morning of the morning spit.

In Barcelona, ​​Metro also worked normally, but suburban trains were suspended due to « electrical instability », a company managed by the service, Rodalies of Catalus, on the X platform.

In other parts of the country, suburban and medium distance services were also suspended or worked with reduced capacity.

Rescue services in Spain stated that they saved about 35,000 passengers yesterday who remained trapped along railways and subway.

The darkening turned sports centers, railway stations and airports in improvised shelters Monday late.

« We were in the north of Portugal and we received notifications until we were here for the disappearance of the Internet, » said Ijan Kenons, a British tourist who was trying to return home, and who was forced to spend the night at Lisbon Airport. « We can’t book any hotel. Nothing. »

The municipality of Barcelona shared 1,200 beds closed recreation centers to host residents who have no way to return home and international passengers. Through Barcelona and Madrid, people slept on the benches and floating stations floors.

The rows stretched outside several supermarkets in Barcelona and Lisbon who worked on spare generators, while people bought foods, water, flashlights and candles. The sellers counted the euro manually, as many cash registers did not work.

Many inconvenience has become a serious threat to survival to those who have medical needs, such as cooling insulin or power supply of dialysis and oxygen concentrators. Some hospitals – but not everything – they worked with the help of aggregates.

What caused electric collapse?

There are many unanswered questions about what this electric collapse caused.

Officials did not reveal what the disappearance of electricity, which is another serious European interruption in the last two months, after the fire at the airport of Hitrou. March suspended the work of the busiest British airport.

They said that it was difficult to find a precedent for this kind of widespread electrical instability on the entire Iberian peninsula, which has about 60 million inhabitants.

In the Mediterranean part, the Balearic Islands of Spain and Territory Ceuta and Melije were spared. Canary islands on the northwest coast of Africa were also not affected.

« We never had a complete collapse of the system, » said Prime Minister Sanchez, explaining that the Spanish electric power network lost 15 gigawates, which is equivalent to 60 percent of national spending, in just five seconds.

In his television address late on Monday, Sanchez said the authorities continue to investigate what exactly happened. The National Center for Cyber ​​Security of Portugal rejected speculation about sabotage, saying there was no evidence that the disappearance arose due to cyber attacks.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president of the European Commission, also excluded the possibility of sabotage. However, the disappearance of the current « is one of the most difficult cases recorded in Europe in recent times, » she said.

Although the investigation is still in progress, preliminary analyzes turned off cyber attacks or sabotage as a cause.

Just six days ago, A significant turning point was celebrated: the National Network of Spain was fully working on Renewable Energy for the first time during the working day.

Yesterday, however, at 12:35 p.m. local time light went out all over Spain and Portugal and parts of France.

Massive Blackout in Europe

Residents in Spain, Portugal, France, and Belgium Report Major Outages.
Airports and Subways Shut Down, Communication Networks Hit.
Madrid’s Barajas Airport is out of service, El Mundo Reports.
No Official Cause Confirmed yet. Chaos Unfolds. pic.twitter.com/vzyjjjhewj

– Nexta (@nexta_tv) April 28, 2025

How Michael Shellenberger writes on Publica leading American research journalist who published the main stories of the Amazon’s crime, increasing climate resistance, climate change and California, this was not only the Spanish power disappearance, he shook the entire European network Gulf Insider.

« None of this was supposed to be a surprise. The basic physics has been understood for years, and specific vulnerabilities were repeatedly listed in technical warnings that politics makers ignored.

Renewables Don’t Risk Blackouts, Said The Media. But they did and They do. The Physics are Simple. And now, as Blackouts in Spain Strand People In Elevators, Jam Traffic, and Ground Flights, It’s Clear That Too Little « Inertia » Due to Excess Solar Resulted in System Collapse. pic.twitter.com/fbux1osvcs

– Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 28, 2025

As countries have replaced heavy, rotating power plants with lighter, inverter-based generations, the network has become faster, easier and far more sensitive to disorders. This basic physical reality was indicated in public warnings since 2017. years, « he stated.

Although political leaders promised that renewable energy will provide stable and affordable energy, in practice, Spain became more and more dependent on the remaining nuclear and gas power plants, although the government encourages to close.

« Despite all these warnings, political and regulatory energy in Europe remained accelerating the implementation of renewable sources, and not to improve the basic stability of the network, » adding that the coal-fired power plants were withdrawn.