Massive Power Outage: Iberian Peninsula and Southwestern France Paralyzed

A major power outage struck Spain, Portugal, and parts of France on Monday, April 28, starting late in the morning. According to grid operators Red Eléctrica (Spain) and REN (Portugal), several thousand users were affected, with Spain’s electricity consumption dropping by half shortly after 12:25 PM.

Rail Traffic Halted and Shopping Centers Evacuated

The consequences were immediate: in Spain, train services were suspended nationwide, severely disrupting rail transport. Metro services in Madrid and Barcelona also came to a standstill. In Barcelona, several shopping centers, including Illa Diagonal, were urgently evacuated. With electronic payment systems down, stores either closed or asked customers to pay in cash.

Airports in several major Spanish cities — Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, and Pamplona — were also impacted. Road traffic was heavily disrupted due to inoperative traffic lights, prompting authorities to advise residents to limit travel as much as possible.

Cause of Outage Still Unknown

Authorities remain cautious about identifying the cause of this exceptional outage. According to REN and Red Eléctrica, initial assessments suggest a major incident in the electricity transmission network, likely in Spain, though other possibilities are not ruled out. Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, after consulting the Cybersecurity Coordination Office, stated it was “too early” to determine whether a cyberattack might be involved.

In France, grid operator RTE confirmed that a few households in the Basque Country experienced brief outages lasting less than ten minutes. RTE explained that “the interconnection with Spain was temporarily suspended to protect the French grid,” and has since been restored, with France sending 500 MW of electricity to support Spain.

Recovery Plans Underway

Gradual restoration plans have been activated across the peninsula, in coordination with European operators. According to Red Eléctrica, some regions in northern and southern Spain had begun regaining power by early afternoon, although the situation remained unstable.

The main electricity companies have yet to provide an official explanation for this unprecedented large-scale incident.