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Spain and Portugal Blackout Traced to Substation Failures, Investigations Ongoing

A cascading series of outages at substations in southern Spain caused Europe’s largest blackout in decades, with probes now focusing on grid vulnerabilities and renewable energy integration.

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Das Blackout auf der Iberischen Halbinsel zeigt: Es kann jeden treffen, jederzeit. Die Folgen sind gravierend, doch mit kluger Vorsorge lassen sie sich abmildern.

Overview

  • The April 28 blackout, which left 55 million people across Spain and Portugal without power, was triggered by failures at substations in Granada, Badajoz, and Sevilla, causing a 2.2 GW generation loss.
  • Authorities have ruled out cyberattacks, supply-demand imbalances, and capacity shortages as causes, but the root trigger of the substation failures remains unclear.
  • Investigations are examining the role of grid oscillations detected prior to the blackout and the impact of high renewable energy penetration on system stability.
  • Satellite imagery from NASA and ESA documented the geographic extent of the blackout and the progressive restoration of power, highlighting the utility of space-based monitoring for infrastructure resilience.
  • Probes by ENTSO-E, Spain’s judiciary, and cybersecurity agencies are underway, with a final ENTSO-E report expected by September 2026 to inform future grid stability measures.