The great blackout of April 28, 2025: What happened?
On April 28, 2025, it will be remembered as the day when much of Spain, Portugal and southern France were mired in the dark. From 12:33 pm, millions of people found themselves without electricity, in a blackout that lasted several hours and affected essential services such as transport, communications and hospitals.
But what exactly was what happened?
🔍 Why did the blackout occurred?
As reported by Red Eléctrica (Ree) and other authorities, the blackout was caused by a Sudden loss of electricity generation. This phenomenon, known as "energy zero", caused the Spanish electrical system to disconnect from the rest of Europe to protect itself.
In a nutshell, there was a massive fall of the generation that unbalanced the entire network, forcing a generalized off to avoid major damage.
🌍 What areas were affected?
The electric cut affected:
- Almost the entire Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
- Some regions of southern France.
- Important cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and Seville.
The Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla were not affected because they work in independent electrical systems.
🧩 What consequences did it have?
For hours:
- The subway and other public transport were paralyzed.
- Traffic lights stopped working, causing traffic jams and accidents.
- The hospitals had to work with emergency generators.
- Telecommunications failed in many places, making it difficult to call and access to the Internet.
- Electronic payment systems collapsed in many shops.
⚙️ How was it solved?
The recovery was progressive. The technicians gradually reconnect the generators and stabilize the network.
At 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29, 99.16% of the electricity demand in Spain was already restored.
📚 Final curiosity
These types of blackouts are extremely rare in Europe, where electrical networks are highly interconnected.
The last "energy zero" of this level in Spain had occurred decades ago, demonstrating the exceptional of what happened yesterday.
Although a cyber attack or sabotage was ruled out in the early hours, investigations remain open to determine the exact origin of the problem.
