Almost All Power Restored in Spain – Terror Ruled Out

By Tuesday morning, the vast majority of Spaniards and Portuguese could once again turn on their lights and start their coffee machines.

The extensive blackout that struck both countries on Monday led to closed schools, empty train tracks, and overcrowded stations. Now, power is 99% restored, according to the national grid operators.

Spain was able to meet nearly all the country’s electricity demand by Tuesday morning, according to Red Electrica. In Portugal, REN announced that all 89 substations were back in operation by Monday evening.

Aftermath: Questions Remain

Even though the power is back, there is still no clear explanation for what triggered the massive outage.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez explained Monday evening that within just five seconds, the country lost 15 gigawatts of electricity production—equivalent to 60% of the entire national consumption.

According to Eduardo Prieto, Director of Operations at Red Electrica, it was precisely this sudden imbalance that caused the connection between the French and Spanish power grids to collapse—triggering a chain reaction that darkened large parts of the country.

No Signs of Terror

Despite the scope of the blackout causing concern among both citizens and the media, authorities have already addressed one critical aspect: “Terror is ruled out as the cause,” sources told Reuters.

The investigation now focuses on technical and systemic causes—including the high share of renewable energy in the area.

Spain is one of Europe’s leading producers of wind and solar energy, and several experts suggest the blackout could serve as a case study on handling green power in crisis situations.

The Cost of Everyday Life

In the meantime, the losses are being calculated. Hospitals ran on emergency generators, train traffic was halted, and thousands of passengers spent the night in stations and arenas.

In Barcelona, restaurants and cafes had to discard goods after hours of refrigeration failures.

“It’s impossible to serve food,” said Maria Luisa Pinol, owner of a local café, to Reuters. “We don’t know if insurance will cover it—and it’s an economic loss on top of everything else.”

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.