What caused the blackout emergency in Spain and Portugal?

Spain and Portugal were thrown into total chaos on April 28 as a massive blackout swept across the countries, cutting off power, communication, and transport for millions. Lights went out, internet signals dropped, trains stopped mid-journey, and even the grand Sagrada Familia in Barcelona disappeared into the night.

But what exactly caused this dramatic shutdown?

That’s the big question everyone is asking — and for now, there’s no clear answer. Spain’s government said 11 hours after the outage that they were still investigating the cause. All possibilities are on the table, and no theory has been ruled out yet. Meanwhile, Portugal pointed fingers at an unusual weather event. Officials there claimed a rare "atmospheric vibration" in Spain set off a chain reaction across Europe’s tightly connected power grid.

Despite the growing concerns, the European Council was quick to step in and calm fears about foul play. They confirmed there was no sign of a cyberattack on the power infrastructure, a relief considering how alert European nations have become about possible sabotage, especially with tensions rising due to the war in Ukraine.

Still, the effects of the blackout were severe. Millions across the Iberian Peninsula were left without phone service, internet, and even access to their money as ATMs went offline. In Spain, emergency workers were kept on their toes, rescuing around 35,000 passengers stuck in trains and subways.

The blackout echoed another recent crisis — the March 20 fire at London’s Heathrow Airport, which had also disrupted power in parts of the UK. This was the second major outage in just over a month.

By the morning of April 29, hope had started to return. Red Eléctrica, Spain’s national grid operator, reported that more than 92% of power had been restored by 5 a.m. Spain’s prime minister assured citizens that the entire country would be back online by the end of the day.