Spain - Large Power Outage

[PrairieWind]

Live updates: Spain and Portugal hit with massive blackouts, affecting travel and commuting

Follow the latest live updates on the power outages affecting Spain and Portugal, creating major transportation setbacks.

www.nbcnews.com

I've seen this through out the day. Anyone in Spain or Portugal have any imput? This is a massive area without power.

 

[whitelilac]

It's been a huge issue. No trains, subways, no functioning ATMs, disabled phone networks, hospitals/medical emergencies, people trapped in elevators etc.
We so depend on power.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/a-major-power-outage-is-reported-in-spain-and-20297872.php

 

[PrairieWind]

No one seems to be talking about what caused this.

 

[whitelilac]

What is the 'rare atmospheric phenomenon' that knocked out power across Spain and Portugal?
Climate correspondent Nick Ferris explains:
The Portuguese grid operator REN said the Iberian blackout was due to a 'rare atmospheric phenomenon' which occurred in Spain.
It claimed that extreme temperature variations in Spain’s interior had caused ‘induced atmospheric vibration’ in the power grid.
It appears that vibrations in the power lines - which normally create the 'hum' you can hear when electricity passes through - became so bad that the entire network broke down.

No sign blackout wascaused by cyberattack, says REN​

Portuguese grid operator REN said on Monday it had "no information" that the mass power outages that hit the Iberian Peninsula were caused by a cyberattack.
REN board member Joao Conceicao told reporters the operator did not rule out that the blackout was due to a "very large oscillation in the electrical voltages, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system".
"There could be a thousand and one causes, it's premature to assess the cause," he said, adding that REN was in permanent contact with Spain.

The cause is as yet undetermined I think.

Spain-Portugal power outage live: State of emergency issued as blackout continues

The blackout could have been caused by ‘extreme temperature variations' which caused havoc with the high voltage electricity lines in Spain's interior, suggested Portugal's grid operator REN

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1916948597754483183

 

[PrairieWind]

I just saw that article as well. I am skeptical. Could that really knock out power to two nations and a portion of France as well?

 

[PrairieWind]

Is power back on yet?

 

[tarabull]

'rare atmospheric phenomenon' = maybe the Sun?????? (ie: flares adding, yesterday we had the HUGE CME, BIG plasma event - peculiar solar events coming from the polar region fwiw.

ETA: there is also a power outage in NS

ETA2: NS possible cyber breach?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/emera-nova-scotia-power-cybersecurity-breach-1.7520223

 

[Lusitana]

Live updates: Spain and Portugal hit with massive blackouts, affecting travel and commuting

Follow the latest live updates on the power outages affecting Spain and Portugal, creating major transportation setbacks.

www.nbcnews.com

I've seen this through out the day. Anyone in Spain or Portugal have any imput? This is a massive area without power.

I lost power from 11:30 AM until 08:40 PM, we also have no water where I live but not everyone is having this issue.

 

[Lusitana]

Whatever happened, didn't start in Portugal. Still looking to find out if it was in Spain or France, but all signs point to France.

 

[PrairieWind]

Whatever happened, didn't start in Portugal. Still looking to find out if it was in Spain or France, but all signs point to France.

Are those power grids all linked?

 

[tarabull]

Major power outage hits Spain, Portugal and southern France after ‘rare atmospheric phenomenon’

A major power outage affected Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France on April 28, 2025, causing widespread disruptions in transport, communication, and public services.

watchers.news

ETA:

Freak disappearance of electricity triggered power cut, says Spain PM Sánchez

“This has never happened before,” said Sánchez, warning it may take longer than expected to restore power.

www.politico.eu

Power begins to return after huge outage hits Spain and Portugal​

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/large-parts-spain-portugal-hit-by-power-outage-2025-04-28/

 

[Bounceycat]

How the outage unfolded minute by minute:

How power outage in Spain and Portugal unfolded - minute-by-minute

Residents stuck on trains, phones not working, checkouts off: How a massive power cut caused chaos.

www.bbc.com

 

[Lucy6226]

I'm struggling to understand how the weather could cause complete power loss to at least 2 countries. It does seem more likely it's some sort of cyber attack, but that would be admitting a weakness and panic with stockpiling would likely happen. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold in the next few days.

I hope everyone there can stay safe, we forget how reliant we are on electricity and internet now.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

'rare atmospheric phenomenon' = maybe the Sun?????? (ie: flares adding, yesterday we had the HUGE CME, BIG plasma event - peculiar solar events coming from the polar region fwiw.

There's been nothing at all like this in the past few days. I monitor solar weather through a phone app which alerts me to fluctuations in disturbances in the magnetosphere on an hourly basis.

 

[tarabull]

I monitor via a live person who reported the largest CME he had ever seen. And as we know it can affect technology including power grids. <modsnip: off topic>

 

[tarabull]

There's been nothing at all like this in the past few days. I monitor solar weather through a phone app which alerts me to fluctuations in disturbances in the magnetosphere on an hourly basis.

You are so right!!!! <modsnip>

How about solar wind?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I monitor via a live person who reported the largest CME he had ever seen. And as we know it can affect technology including power grids. <modsnip: off topic>

The simple size of the CME isn't the crucial issue, which is whether the CME has been emitted directly at the Earth. Only the ones which are pointed directly at us and hit the Earth's atmosphere are dangerous to us. There have been a few really humungous CMEs observed in recent years but they have fortunately missed us. There was a potential Carrington Event in 2012, for example, which missed us by nine days:

July 2012 solar storm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The phone apps you can download provide an update on what is actually hitting the atmosphere and therefore potentially leading to aurorae. There's a very good service for the UK provided by Lancaster University:

AuroraWatch UK · AuroraWatch UK

See the aurora borealis from the UK

aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I'm struggling to understand how the weather could cause complete power loss to at least 2 countries. It does seem more likely it's some sort of cyber attack, but that would be admitting a weakness and panic with stockpiling would likely happen. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold in the next few days.

I hope everyone there can stay safe, we forget how reliant we are on electricity and internet now.

There are reports that its the result of the move to renewables due to Net Zero. Apparently, renewables (ie the sun or wind) can't just be turned up or additional facilities brought on line on demand in the same way as traditional sources of energy.

The risks of moving too much to solar and wind power have been known for some time but ignored by politicians and advocates of renewables. I remember reading on Twitter a couple of years ago a very detailed (c50 slide) explanation of why renewables can't be relied on or managed in the same way as traditional power.

This is the future.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

"Now Spain's socialist leaders are accused of a blackout COVER UP as Net Zero is blamed for 'third world' outage and chaos paralyses country"

Power comes back on in parts of Spain and Portugal after blackouts

Power supply was gradually restored from late Monday afternoon and early evening though some operations were still not able to resume on Tuesday morning

www.dailymail.co.uk

"From Spain's heavy reliance on solar and wind to ‘anomalous oscillations' in power lines, scientists reveal what’s to blame for the Iberian Peninsula's cascading power outage"​

Scientists reveal what's to blame for Spain's cascading power outage

Experts say Spain and Portugal's blackout is likely due to a combination of factors including Spain 's reliance on green energy and 'anomalous oscillations' in power lines.

www.dailymail.co.uk