Massive power blackout hits Spain and Portugal

Widespread power blackout in Spain and Portugal causes chaos, delays, and investigations into possible cyber attack ongoing.

Spain and Portugal were hit by a widespread power blackout on Monday (April 28, 2025) that paralysed public transport, caused large traffic jams and delayed airline flights, and utility operators were scrambling to restore the grid.

Authorities were unable to explain the cause of the outage at least an hour after it occurred, though a possible cyber attack had not been ruled out and investigations were ongoing, officials said. A crisis committee was set up in Spain to manage the situation, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency cabinet meetings after the outage, which also briefly affected a part of France, which borders northeastern Spain.

Portugal's utility REN confirmed a cut in electricity across the Iberian Peninsula that also affected part of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power.

"All plans for the phased restoration of energy supply are being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators," a REN spokesperson said.

"REN is in permanent contact with official entities, namely the National Civil Protection Authority. At the same time, the possible causes of this incident are being assessed."

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, forcing 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power.