Overview

• The April 28 blackout affected Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, marking one of Europe’s most severe power outages in decades.
• Red Eléctrica de España (REE) identified two generation losses in southwestern Spain as the initial triggers but ruled out cyberattacks as a cause.
• Experts and reports have warned for years that Spain’s rapid renewable energy expansion has reduced grid inertia, increasing vulnerability to disruptions.
• The week prior to the blackout saw power surges and cuts, including disruptions to trains and industrial operations, signaling instability in the grid.
• Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has ordered official probes into the outage, while debates continue over accountability and the need for grid resilience reforms.