⚡ Widespread Blackout Paralyzes Iberian Peninsula
On April 28, 2025, a massive power outage plunged mainland Portugal, peninsular Spain, Andorra, and parts of southwestern France into darkness for nearly 10 hours. The blackout brought metro systems to a standstill, crippled telecommunications, and caused widespread traffic chaos as signals failed. Hospitals and emergency services were pushed to the brink.
At least seven deaths in Spain have been linked to the outage, with incidents involving candle fires and generator fumes. The exact cause remains unclear, though grid data indicates a sudden plunge in electricity generation—particularly from nuclear and coal sources—within seconds. Solar power continued to feed limited supply, but nuclear capacity took days to restore.
Spanish grid operator REE, along with European agencies, is investigating the event. Ukraine has offered technical support, drawing on its experience with maintaining infrastructure under wartime stress.