Widespread power outages hit several countries in Western Europe this afternoon, triggering chaos as railways, airports and traffic lights went down along with communications systems and financial networks.
The shocking blackouts, which struck around 12.35pm CEST, have impacted millions of people with almost all of Spain and Portugal affected as the Iberian peninsula’s power grid was cut off from the wider European grid (ENTSO-E).
Parts of France, Andorra, Belgium and the Netherlands also suffered outages, according to the most recent reports.
Spain’s state electricity network operator Red Electrica, which is now gradually restoring power to the country and neighbouring Portugal, said a ‘very strong oscillation’ in the electrical network caused Spain’s power system to ‘disconnect from the European system’.
Red Electrica Director Eduardo Prieto refused to speculate on the cause of this oscillation as investigations are ongoing.
But some analysts have suggested that the grid operator’s reliance on renewable energy sources to supply the majority of the nation’s electricity could have led to the blackout.
Traditional generators, like coal and hydroelectric plants or gas turbines, are connected directly to the grid via heavy spinning machines.
When turned on, these massive machines are in constant motion and the inertia created by their weight and momentum helps to insulate the grid against a sudden disturbance in the electrical frequency – for example, in the event of a transmission failure.
Solar and wind power do not provide the natural inertia generated by these so-called ‘spinning machines’, leaving the grid more vulnerable to disruptions and oscillations in the electrical frequency.
Renewable energy sources – predominantly solar and wind power – met the electricity demand for all of Spain for the first time ever on April 16, according to Red Electrica, which says it is leading an ‘ecological transition’ in Spain’s energy sector.
At 12:30pm local time today – five minutes before the widespread blackouts occurred – solar power was generating some 60% of Spain’s electricity, according to official figures cited by Bloomberg’s Energy Columnist Javier Blas.
Data from Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica showed the dramatic drop in energy usage across Spain
Pictures show people being evacuated from trains in Spain down tunnels amid the outage
Pictures on social media show power outages at train stations
Olive trees stand in the fields next to a solar plant in Jaen, Spain, April 10, 2025
Video showed travellers queuing at a station in Spain amid the power outage
The outage is reported to have forced the closure of tram systems in Spain
Earlier theories as to why the outages occurred included a cyber attack, as analysts pointed out that Europe’s energy grid has suffered a substantial increase in cyber attacks following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, a fire in southern France reportedly damaged a high-voltage powerline between Perpignan and Narbonne, which may also have contributed to the outages.
But energy experts and electricity providers have since rejected those explanations.
Red Electrica is now working with two of Spain’s largest electric companies, Endesa and Iberdrola, to investigate the cause of the outages.
‘Power restoration plans have been activated in collaboration with industry companies following the power outage on the (Iberian) peninsula,’ a statement from Red Electrica read.
‘The causes are being analysed, and all resources are being dedicated to addressing the issue. We will continue to provide updates.’
A graph on Red Electrica’s website showing demand across the country laid bare the extent of the outages.
It indicated a steep drop around 12:15pm local time from 27,500MW to near 15,000MW. This later dipped below `12,500MW, suggesting more than half of Spain was briefly left without power.
Spanish ministers gathered for an emergency session to plan the government’s response to the crisis as Red Electrica works to restore power.
It came as reports of blackout chaos across Spain and Portugal flooded in, with videos published on social media appearing to show passengers trekking through tunnels as they attempted to escape subterranean metro networks.
A British expat living in Barcelona says that ‘nobody seems to know what’s going on’ in Spain ‘because nobody has signal’.
The English teacher, who spoke to MailOnline on condition of anonymity, said he only found out about the European blackout from British reports.
‘I can get signal on my rooftop, but I can’t get signal down below. One floor down I have nothing,’ he said.
‘The traffic lights are still working … The underground is not working apparently. Lots of parts of the public transport are not working.’
The 31-year-old said the power went offline in Barcelona at 12:34pm local time.
Meanwhile, Lottie Feist, 23, who lives in Lisbon, told of panic across the Portuguese capital as traffic lights cut out.
The translation student at Nova University said: ‘There is no electricity, nothing is working. We don’t know what’s happening or why we are having a blackout.
‘The roads are absolute carnage as no traffic lights are working.
‘All the power is down, and businesses are being impacted.
‘It’s terrifying, people will be stuck in elevators, and everything has completely shut down.’
