Collapse in Spain: 30,000 police officers against the historical blackout

Collapse in Spain: 30,000 police officers against the historical blackout

Madrid, Spanien - On Monday, April 28, 2025, Spain declared the emergency after a massive power failure paralyzed large parts of the Iberian peninsula. According to Kosmo , the Interior Ministry in Madrid said that the state of emergency only applies to the regions that ask for support. So far, Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura have made this application. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appealed to the population to keep calm and to limit telephone communication to the bare essentials.

The power failure that lasted around eight hours, according to the Spanish Ministry of Health, affected numerous aspects of public life. First successes in the restoration of the power supply were recorded on Monday evening. A total of 30,000 police officers are on duty nationwide to maintain security. In many Spanish regions, including Catalonia, Aragon and the Basque Country, the power supply normalized.

causes of blackout

The exact causes of the power failure are still unclear. The Portuguese network operator Ren denied speculation about a possible cyber attack and attributes the problems to massive voltage fluctuations in the Spanish network that expanded to Portugal. According to Deutschlandfunk initially occurred in Spain before they also reach Portugal.

technicians face the challenge of gradually building up the power grid and maintaining a balance between supply and demand. According to Ren, a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” could have caused extreme temperature fluctuations and synchronization errors in the European network, which continues to complicate the situation. The cyber security authority Incibe is investigating the incident and does not rule out a cyber attack, but has so far not found any evidence of it.

effects on the infrastructure

The power failure had far -reaching consequences. Numerous train and subway connections were discontinued, traffic lights failed and many people were stuck in elevators. Hospitals had to fall back on emergency power units in order to maintain the operation, which was largely successful according to the Ministry of Health. Mobile phone networks, airports and radio transmitters were also affected, which led to a significant disorder of public life.

The incident could exceed the largest European power failure that took place in Italy and Switzerland in 2003. Such cascading power failures, caused by overloaded lines, can affect large areas and are usually a sign of weaknesses in the power grid, as in the Education explained.

The European Commission is in contact with the Spanish and Portuguese authorities in order to clarify the causes of the event and to discuss possible preventive measures. In view of the increasing complexity and dynamics of the power supply systems, the need to bring everyone involved together to improve the infrastructure.