The power outage occurred at noon on April 28 (local time), disrupting the lives of tens of millions of people.
According to NPR, power has been partially restored in three countries by the evening of the same day, but many large areas remained paralyzed. The cause of the incident is still unknown, causing both authorities and people to worry.
Speaking at a press conference on the evening of April 28, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that such a widespread power outage had never occurred in the country's history. He revealed that in just a few short seconds, Spain lost the equivalent of 60% of the total national consumption demand.
The Spanish interior ministry has declared a state of emergency after a national power outage in most of the Iberia peninsula. The ministry added that a state of emergency will be imposed in areas where it is required.
Although the investigation is being urgently conducted, the authorities have not ruled out any theories. However, according to Antonio Costa - President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Portugal - there are currently no signs that this is a cyber attack.
By the evening of the same day, Prime Minister Sanchez said that nearly half of Spain's electricity had been restored. Major cities such as Madrid, Murcia and the Catalonia region (where Barcelona is located) have been restored to power, according to the Red Electric grid coordinator.
Mr. Sanchez also expressed his gratitude to France and Morocco for supporting Spain in efforts to restore power. However, he admitted that there is currently no specific time for a complete restoration of power nationwide.
In Portugal, grid operator REN said that by the evening of April 28, electricity had been restored to 750,000 customers. However, the capital Lisbon still has no electricity, although REN has committed that the power source will soon return.
The power outage paralyzed almost every aspect of daily life. Public transport in Spain - from subway to railway - has been forced to temporarily suspend operations.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on social network X that authorities had to rescue passengers from 116 trains in a trail.
At major airports such as Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona, dozens of flights have been delayed or canceled, according to data from the FlightAware.com flight tracking page. However, thanks to backup power systems, most airports were able to operate basically during this chaotic day, according to Aena, the Spanish airport operator.
With widespread impact and seriousness, this power outage is raising many questions about the safety and stability of the energy system in Europe.
The lack of an immediate cause has made the public more concerned about potential risks, especially in the context of the European power grid system increasingly under pressure from high demand and geopolitical fluctuations.
