Spain and Portugal hit by nationwide power outages
Spain and Portugal have been hit by a power outage covering wide areas across the two countries. Capitals Madrid and Lisbon are included in the outages as grid operators work to resolve the issue.
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said the power outage had affected the Iberian peninsula and it was working with energy companies to restore power in affected areas.
Parts of France may also be affected, Spanish media has reported, alongside large Spanish cities like Seville, Barcelona and Valencia. Reports also indicate that telephone lines are down in parts of the country.
Madrid’s underground is under investigation (REUTERS)
Follow on the live blog for regular updates as the power outage continues.
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions of the country at around 12:30 p.m. local time, leaving its newsroom, Spain’s parliament in Madrid and metro stations across the country in the dark.
Spanish radio stations have said part of the Madrid underground was being investigated and there were traffic jams in the capital city as traffic lights had stopped working.
Madrid Open – Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain – April 28, 2025 Fans are seen after the matches get suspended due to a power outage REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura (REUTERS)
The Portuguese police said traffic lights were affected across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto, and trains were not running.
Spanish radio network Cadena Ser reports that prime minister Pedro Sánchez is on his way to Red Electrica headquarters to assess the situation.
The grid operator has confirmed on social media that the process of regaining power in the country will now be “gradual” as its engineers work on the grid in the north and south of the country.
Social media footage from Malaga, on Spain’s south coast, also shows metro passengers forced to walk inside the tunnel as carriages are evacuated.
The ongoing Madrid Open tennis tournament has also suspended matches for the time being.
People in neighborhood WhatsApp chats in Barcelona and outskirts cities and towns also reported the outage.
In Portugal, a country of some 10.6 million people, the outage hit the capital, Lisbon, and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts of the country.
A cook from “La Cocinona” home-made take out food restaurant works in a dark kitchen with the aid of phone’s flashlight during a power outage in Madrid, Spain, April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera (REUTERS)
Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to “a problem with the European electricity system,” according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.
“This is a wider European problem”, it added.
The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilize the network, according to Expresso. E-Redes said parts of France also were affected.
It was not possible to make calls on mobile phone networks, though some apps were working.
Spain and Portugal have a combined population of over 50 million people and it remains unclear just how many people are affected.
This is a breaking news story and will be regularly updated with more details…
