On April 28, 2023, Spain and Portugal experienced a significant power blackout that disrupted daily life and essential services across both countries. The outage, which struck during peak hours, paralyzed public transport systems, caused extensive traffic jams, and delayed numerous airline flights. Utility operators were quickly mobilized to restore the grid, but authorities were unable to provide an explanation for the outage for at least an hour following the incident. Investigations into the potential causes, including the possibility of a cyber attack, are currently ongoing.
In response to the blackout, a crisis committee was established in Spain to oversee the management of the situation. Both the Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency cabinet meetings to address the implications of the outage. Notably, the blackout also briefly impacted a portion of France, which shares its northeastern border with Spain. Portugal's utility company, REN, confirmed that the electricity cut affected the entire Iberian Peninsula and parts of France, prompting immediate action from the Spanish grid operator, Red Electrica, to restore power.
A spokesperson for REN stated that plans for the phased restoration of energy supply were being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators. The utility company maintained constant communication with official entities, including the National Civil Protection Authority, while assessing the possible causes of the incident.
The blackout had a profound effect on daily activities, disrupting events such as the Madrid Open tennis tournament. The match between 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and British opponent Jacob Fearnley was interrupted as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power. Local radio stations reported that parts of the Madrid underground were evacuated, while traffic jams ensued in the city center due to non-functioning traffic lights.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos, with hundreds of individuals stranded outside office buildings in Madrid and a heavy police presence managing traffic disruptions. Notably, one of the four tower buildings housing the British Embassy was evacuated, highlighting the widespread impact of the outage. Reports also indicated that people were trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators across the region.
In Portugal, police reported that traffic lights were non-functional nationwide, leading to the closure of metro services in both Lisbon and Porto, and halting train operations. Metropolitano de Lisboa, the operator of Lisbon’s subway, confirmed that the subway was at a standstill with passengers still onboard the trains. Additionally, sources at Portugal's TAP Air indicated that Lisbon airport was operating on backup generators, while AENA, the organization managing 46 airports in Spain, reported widespread flight delays across the country.
In France, the grid operator RTE noted a brief outage in their region but confirmed that power had been restored and investigations into the cause were underway.
This widespread blackout has raised concerns about the resilience of the power infrastructure in Spain and Portugal, prompting a thorough investigation into the incident to prevent future occurrences.
