A combination of factors triggered the unprecedented blackout that left Spain and Portugal without electricity for several hours last year, a new report has found.
On 28 April 2025, shortly after midday, the Iberian peninsula's electricity supply was shut down, causing widespread chaos, cutting internet and telephone connections and halting transport links.
The outage hit schools, universities, businesses and public buildings, and a small area of southern France near the Spanish border was also affected. Some areas did not recover power for 16 hours.
The outage originated in Spain, and Portugal was also affected because of the two countries' close interconnection.
Entso-e, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, described it as "the most severe and unprecedented blackout that had occurred in Europe in the past 20 years, with a major impact on citizens and society as a whole" in Spain and Portugal.
