Millions of people across Spain and Portugal lost power on April 28, 2025, after a massive blackout hit the region. The outage disrupted transportation, communication networks, and daily life, with some parts of southern France also affected.
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
Hospitals in Spain were forced to run on generators, while banks and schools in Portugal closed. Matches at the Madrid Open tennis tournament were suspended, according to the ATP Tour.
Officials are still working to determine what caused the blackout and how soon full service can be restored. Below, find out which areas were impacted, what might have triggered the outage, and how long recovery efforts are expected to take.
What Areas Were Affected by the Blackout?
The massive power outage impacted large portions of southern Europe. In Spain, major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Pamplona experienced significant disruptions. Portugal faced nationwide outages, affecting Lisbon, Porto, and other regions. Additionally, parts of southern France, particularly areas near the Spanish border such as Perpignan, were also affected.
BREAKING 🚨: MAJOR POWER CUT has hit Spain, Portugal and France. The Madrid underground has been evacuated and trains have been stopped.
Airports have come to a stop, traffic lights are out of order, and internet connectivity is unavailable.
The cause? Still unclear. pic.twitter.com/c2ICHuj6PR
— The British Patriot (@TheBritLad) April 28, 2025
Cause of the 2025 Power Outage in Europe
The cause of the blackout is still under investigation, but Portugal’s national energy supplier, E-Redes, said in a statement that “the interruption was due to a problem in the European electricity grid” and that “the blackout also affected regions of Spain and France due to faults in very high-voltage lines.”
There has also been some speculation about a possible cyberattack. However, António Leitão Amaro, Portugal’s minister of state for the presidency, said on national radio that there was no evidence to support that theory.
How Long Will It Take to Restore Power?
Restoration efforts began quickly after the blackout hit. Spain’s national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, estimated that it would take between six to ten hours to fully restore electricity across the affected areas.
“The experience of other similar events that have taken place in other countries indicate to us that this process – the total reestablishment of the electrical supply – will take several hours, Eduardo Prieto, director of services for system operation at Red Eléctrica, told broadcaster La Sexta.
In a post on X, Red Eléctrica confirmed that service had already returned to parts of both northern and southern Spain.
➡️Empezamos a recuperar tensión por el norte y sur peninsular, clave para atender progresivamente el suministro de electricidad.
➡️Es un proceso que conlleva la energización paulatina de la red de transporte a medida que los grupos de generación se acoplen.
Continuamos…
— Red Eléctrica (@RedElectricaREE) April 28, 2025
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