Power restored to '99+ percent' of mainland Spain, most of Portugal
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Questions remain about the cause of one of Europe's most severe blackouts, which grounded flights and paralyzed metro systems.
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People wait outside a closed train station during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Power has been restored to over 99% of mainland Spain, operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) said Tuesday. At 6:00 am local time, 99.16% of power had been restored across mainland Spain with a production of 21.26 megawatts. The blackout began at around 12:33 pm local time on Monday.
Portugal's government, on its part, said on Tuesday all 6.4 million electricity clients had power supplies normalized after Monday's country-wide blackout.
It said in a statement that all airports were operating, with some recovery still underway in Lisbon, and trains were working.
The massive blackout hit mainly Spain and Portugal, disrupting trains, elevators, and communications for millions. According to REE, electricity was back in most areas, with nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula, home to about 60 million people, affected. The cause remains unclear amid speculation of cyberattacks.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez explained that "about 15 gigawatts of electricity, more than half of the power being consumed at the time, suddenly disappeared" in five seconds. He also warned that some workers would have to stay home on Tuesday.
Power was also restored to most of Portugal, affecting 6.2 million households, and Montenegro said recovery would be complete "within hours". The outage also briefly disrupted southwest France and impacted airport check-ins and internet providers in Morocco.
People were "stunned", said 19-year-old construction worker Carlos Candori, after being stranded in the paralyzed Madrid metro. "There's no (phone) coverage, I can't call my family, my parents, nothing: I can't even go to work," he told Agence-France Press (AFP).
Coronavirus 'nothing compared to this'
In Madrid and cities across Spain and Portugal, panicked customers rushed to withdraw cash, while crowds scrambled for phone signals and long lines formed for taxis and buses. Police struggled to manage traffic, and authorities urged motorists to stay home.
“The coronavirus pandemic will be nothing compared to this,” said Barcelona father Hector Emperador.
In Madrid, 286 rescue operations freed people trapped in lifts. Trains were halted nationwide, with three still stranded in Spain Tuesday morning, according to Transport Minister Oscar Puente. The huge power cut disrupted flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona & Lisbon, the European air traffic organization Eurocontrol said.
Several high-speed rail lines, including Madrid-Barcelona and Madrid-Valencia, are expected to resume normal service, though disruptions remain on other routes, Transport Minister Oscar Puente wrote on X. Railway stations in major cities stayed open overnight for stranded passengers.
Lisbon and Madrid are climbing on our disruption ranking, because of the widespread electrical outages affecting Spain and Portugal. pic.twitter.com/6hmvpN515v
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 28, 2025
By Tuesday morning, Madrid's metro resumed 80% of services, with only one line remaining down. The blackout left thousands stranded as train stations cleared out, shops and offices closed, and emergency workers rescued 35,000 passengers.
In Lisbon, tourists like Ian Cannons were stuck due to internet outages, and in Barcelona, 1,200 cots were distributed to shelters for stranded residents and travelers.
In Barcelona, locals and tourists flooded the streets for answers. Student Laia Montserrat told AFP, "As the internet wasn't coming back, they told us to go home... (but) there weren't trains either. Now we don't know what to do." Netblocks, an organization that tracks internet disruptions, told AFP that internet use dropped to 17% of normal.
With internet and phone networks down across Spain and Portugal, people rushed to buy radios, candles, and dried goods, while long lines formed at supermarkets running on generators. Clerks tallied cash by hand, gas stations were scarce, and many residents were locked out of their homes with electric keys.
Officials respond
The European Commission is in contact with Spain and Portugal, while European Council President Antonio Costa said on X: "There are no indications of any cyberattack." The European air traffic organization, Eurocontrol, reported flight disruptions in Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon.
I am in touch with @sanchezcastejon and @LMontenegro_PT about the widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal today.
— António Costa (@eucopresident) April 28, 2025
Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause, and on restoring the electricity supply.
At this point, there are no indications of any…
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the outage's source was "probably in Spain," while Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cautioned against speculation, stressing "all the potential causes" are being analyzed and calling to avoid "speculation" due to "misinformation".
Spain's nuclear power plants automatically shut down during the massive blackout on April 28, 2025, as a safety measure. Diesel generators maintained them in a "safe condition", according to the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). Four reactors at three nuclear plants were operational at the time and went offline immediately. Two other reactors, already offline before the blackout, also relied on generators to keep essential systems running safely.
