Massive Blackout Cripples Spain and Portugal's Daily Life

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

A sweeping power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, disabling cell networks and internet, halting trains, and trapping individuals in lifts. Officials quickly mobilized to determine the root of this immense blackout, as both nations struggled with the sudden disruption.

 

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez sought updates at the state electricity operator’s headquarters, while the network, Red Electrica, warned of a prolonged recovery.

 

Social media captured scenes of Madrid and Barcelona immersed in darkness, with stranded metro trains and offices relying on mobile lights for visibility. Traffic chaos ensued as motorists were advised to stop driving due to non-functional traffic lights, prompting police interventions at intersections. Citizens were spotted resorting to smartphones, trying to maintain communication amid the digital freeze.

 

Portugal also endured the blackout, with REN confirming widespread impacts across the Iberian Peninsula. Electrical incidents spilled over into southwest France but were swiftly rectified. Responses from European grid operators indicated efforts to pinpoint the disruption's cause, with the European Commission seeking clarity on the matter.

 

 

 

Spain's railway stopped country-wide operations, while flights faced delays though airports remained active thanks to contingency systems. Red Electrica reported partial power restoration in northern and southern regions but cautioned that challenges persisted.

 

The blackout immobilized communications significantly, with connectivity dropping to just 17% of normal, per Netblocks. Media outlets illuminated the crisis, revealing halted metros, hand-directed traffic, and journalists operating in darkened environments.

 

Despite the chaos, critical services in hospitals sustained operations owing to backup generators. History points to similar blackouts globally, with nations like Tunisia, Sri Lanka, and others having faced severe outages in recent years.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-04-29

 

 

[Tug]

Hope they get it squared away soon sounds like a real mess.It will be interesting to see what happen.

[Cryingdick]

Run everything on solar and then dim the sun to fight global warming.

[blaze master]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Hope they get it squared away soon sounds like a real mess.It will be interesting to see what happen.

 

My friend posted this update on his instabook.

 

 

[johng]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

Run everything on solar and then dim the sun to fight global warming.

That actually seems to be their plan

couldn't be more absurd.

[blaze master]

9 minutes ago, johng said:

That actually seems to be their plan

couldn't be more absurd.

 

We see all.

[JonnyF]

Seems like energy is quite important after all. 😅

 

Maybe time to drop all this net zero rubbish and worry about keeping the lights on?

 

 

[Tom100]

Hi from Spain. 6 Days After Celebrating '100% Renewable Power', Spain Blames "Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon" For Nation's Largest Blackout In History.

 

"Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon" = cloudy days! lol. Ths shows how crazy it is for Northern countries to rely on solar if it is not reliable in Espana

 

No power for 14 hours: everything stopped and stores closed. No wifi -- NADA!

[mfd101]

I'm not a conspiracy fanatic but, in the current situation in Europe, I can't help thinking:

 

Russia trying out its systems?

 

Poland and the Baltics next.

[johng]

1 minute ago, mfd101 said:

Russia trying out its systems?

 

I doubt that it was Russian sabotage but would not be surprised if  the Europeans try to pin it on them,after all that dastardly Putin blew up his own gas pipeline just so he couldn't sell the gas to Germany (makes sense right ? )

 

As already mentioned above the most likely cause is the unreliable nature of "green" energy   if the sun don't shine (unusual atmospheric conditions ! 😋 )

or the wind don't blow  then you need a backup  supply  which can be Hydro oil,gas and nuclear and they need to be enough to fully replace the "green" energy at a moments notice  if not well  we have just seen what happens.

[steven100]

36 minutes ago, Tom100 said:

Hi from Spain. 6 Days After Celebrating '100% Renewable Power', Spain Blames "Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon" For Nation's Largest Blackout In History.

 

"Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon" = cloudy days! lol. Ths shows how crazy it is for Northern countries to rely on solar if it is not reliable in Espana

 

No power for 14 hours: everything stopped and stores closed. No wifi -- NADA!

 

It was the cleaner at the office at the electrical power station.   she pulled out the city power plug and plugged her vacuum cleaner in to do the floors,  but she forgot to put the city power plug back in. 

 

[frank83628]

Not much mention of this in the reporting. 

[James105]

Big congrats to Spain on achieving net zero for the day!  This just shows what can be achieved by moving away from the tried and tested, dare I say reliable, means of providing energy to the nation.   Thanks to this remarkable achievement Spain did not output any emissions at all whilst they ventured back into the dark ages for a while.  I have to admit I didn't feel any colder myself but I'm sure the well funded scientific consensus community will be along shortly to tell us what an impact this made to the entirely man made climate apocalypse and how we should all be comfortable (and excited) for more planned energy grid shutdowns in the future. 

 

"Just 2 weeks to flatten the climate curve" will be the cry from the politicians and climate emergency enthusiasts.   

[JonnyF]

Lucky they still use cash in large parts of Spain. 

[Purdey]

I suppose green energy will enable long term energy supply. Just needs batteries (not included) for night time use.

[Tarteso]