The Spanish power outage, which began shortly after midday, brought major hubs like Madrid and Barcelona to a standstill—crippling transport systems, grounding flights, and sparking panic among residents.
The blackout affected millions across Spain, Portugal and France, with 25 flights from Portugal to the United Kingdom and 11 flights from the UK to Spain being cancelled.
Spain was the worst affected, with the entire mainland—excluding the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which only experienced satellite outages—plunged into darkness.
In less than five seconds, the Spanish power outage caused the country to lose 60% of its electricity supply. Reports quickly emerged of people trapped in lifts, trains grinding to a halt, and traffic brought to a standstill as traffic lights stopped working. Emergency communication lines were left severely compromised.
Spanish power outage: Chaos, confusion and community
The Spanish power outage is already having effects on the economy. The Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) estimated that the self-employed have suffered losses of around €1.3 billion, with the hospitality and retail sectors hit particularly hard.
As confusion spread, conspiracy theories quickly gained traction, with fears of a cyberattack circulating widely on social media. With no official information available for hours, many relied on battery-powered radios for updates.
Long queues formed at cashpoints and supermarkets, as residents rushed to stock up on essentials. Over 30,000 police officers were mobilized to control the chaos.
Kai Edvard Iliev, Politics UK Correspondent in Madrid, said: “It was 12.05 when all lights suddenly shut down in my room, while I was working on a piece. When I asked the janitor, he said the whole street was affected.”
He explained that it did not take long to realize more than a street was affected. This did not stop Spaniards, famous for their Mediterranean style, from enjoying life. Most sat down in the bar, having a beer. The expectation was that everything would be fine within a few hours.
He said everything changed an hour later, as most shops were closed and people were seen queuing as they looked for any type of food they could find with restaurants unable to remain open, expecting deliveries that didn’t arrive.
To add insult to injury, the outage made it impossible to pay by card. Few inhabitants had above 20€ on them, especially when it comes to Gen Z.
Carmen Jurado, a resident of Granada, southern Spain said: “I got stuck in the elevator and couldn’t contact emergency services as there was no phone signal
“Neighbours eventually helped me out, and I had to walk home from work as public transport had stopped.”
Despite the Spanish power outage, Madrid’s streets were full of life, from street concerts to open-air parties and flash mobs. When life seemed finally to find a new normal with many going for a nap in Retiro, Madrid’s most popular park, the police forced all to leave the park at 5:20 PM citing the power outage as a reason to close the park down.
A return to normality after the Spanish power outage
The first signs of normality could be seen around 20.00, as some of the traffic lights could be seen functioning again. Despite that, the metro remained closed until the next morning. Depending on the providers, the signal returned around 20:30, after six hours without internet.
The director of Spain’s national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, has denied cyberattacks, human error, or unusual atmospheric phenomena, instead pointing to two major instances of “generation disconnection”—likely involving solar power—as the cause of the Spanish power outage.
In response to the scale of the disruption, Spanish regional governments called on Madrid to activate Alert Level 3—a civil protection protocol that places national authorities in direct control of emergency response operations. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a state of emergency over the Spanish power outage at their request.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez later addressed the nation, stating that the nation was “overcoming the worst” of the Spanish power outage. He denied any link to a lack of nuclear power, instead citing climate-related factors and “extreme wind” as possible contributors.
The government has called for an independent investigation from Brussels and promised to hold private energy operators accountable. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the opposition leader, has accused the government of a lack of information and coordination in the initial hours of the Spanish power outage.
Yesterday, Spanish King Felipe VI took full charge of Spain’s National Security Council for the first time to receive a detailed briefing on the nationwide blackout that plunged much of the country into chaos. This highlights the severity of the crisis and the growing concern over the resilience of Spain’s critical infrastructure.
In France, southern regions also experienced outages, with the French grid operator RTE coordinating recovery efforts. Morocco provided emergency support to restore electricity. Meanwhile, Portugal’s operator REN attributed the incident to atmospheric conditions, noting “anomalous oscillations” in high-voltage lines caused by extreme temperature shifts.
While power has now been largely restored across both countries, rail services are still facing delays and confusion, particularly at major train stations. Some regions in Spain have requested the deactivation of an Alert Level 3.
Spain’s national grid operator has confirmed that operations on the mainland electricity system have returned to normal. The announcement comes as the country works to restore full normality.
