Spectators wander inside the Madrid Open tennis tournament place during a general breakdown in Madrid on April 28.
Manu Fernandez / AP
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Manu Fernandez / AP
Parties of Spain, Portugal and the South of France were plunged into the dark on Monday by a huge power failure. The lights come back for some, but the cause of the failure remains clear.
The power failure through the Iberian Peninsula began local time at noon. Monday evening, electricity was partially restored in the three countries, but large expanses of the region remain without electricity.
The power outage has interrupted almost all aspects of daily life for tens of millions of people – disturbing metros, cutting telephone service and stopping traffic lights and automatic countertop machines. Meanwhile, rescue systems have maintained the power of hospitals, nuclear power plants and prisons.
Here’s what you need to know.
People buy races using their phone as a flashlight in Madrid, Spain, April 28.
Diego Radames / Anadolu via getty images
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Diego Radames / Anadolu via getty images
The cause of the power failure remains a mystery
At a press conference on Monday evening, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that a national power outage of this scale had never occurred before in Spain.
He added that, in a few seconds, a large amount of energy – equivalent to 60% of Spain’s electricity demand – was lost. Sánchez said the underlying cause of the failure remained clear and that no theory had been excluded.
Earlier Monday, António Costa, president of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Portugal, said on X that there was no sign so far suggesting that a cyber attack was behind the power failure.
A pastry is lacking in light, in Tarragona, Spain, on April 28, 2025. A widespread power outage across Spain and Portugal disrupted mobile phone and Internet services, interrupted train operations and left people trapped in elevators, officials reported. (Photo by / Nurphoto via Getty Images)
Francisco Richart Barbeira / Nurphoto via Getty Images
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Francisco Richart Barbeira / Nurphoto via Getty Images
Significant progress made in the restoration of electricity
Sánchez said on Monday evening that almost half of the food in Spain had been recovered. He added that almost all regions of Spain showed an improvement. He also thanked France and Morocco for helping their electricity.
Among the areas where power has been restored are major cities, including the capital of the country Madrid and Murcia, as well as regions like Catalonia, which houses Barcelona, according to the Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica.
Despite progress, the Prime Minister said that he does not know how long it would take to fully restore power across Spain.
A family eats a snack at the candlelight during a power failure in Barcelona, Spain on April 28.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
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Emilio Morenatti / AP
Meanwhile, the operator of the Portuguese network Ren has declared that food was back for 750,000 customers in Portugal on Monday evening. Electricity had not yet been restored in Lisbon, the national capital, but Ren said that the service was to resume soon.
Blackout has led to major disruptions in travel
The massive electricity failure brought Spain and Portugal on Monday to brutal stop.
Public transport, including metros and rail services, were suspended across Spain. The authorities worked to save the passengers from 116 trains that were blocked on Monday, wrote the Minister of Transport of the Pays Oscar Puente on X.
People are waiting in front of a closed metro station during a power failure in Barcelona, Spain, April 28.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
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Emilio Morenatti / AP
The electricity failure has also led to dozens of flight and cancellation delays at Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona airports, according to the Flightaware.com flight tracking website. But Aena, which manages many Spanish airports, said on X that most airports were able to remain operational on Monday thanks to the electrical emergency systems.
Eleanor Beardsley from NPR in Paris and Miguel Macias in Seville, Spain, contributed to reports.
