The reason behind the major power outage that halted normal activities across much of Spain and Portugal earlier this year has now come to light.
According to recent reports, the blackout was caused by an excessive electrical voltage in the system.
The reports further revealed that this blackout was the most severe in Europe over the past 20 years and was the first ever caused by this type of power surge.
On April 28, 2025, the power outage left thousand of train passengers stuck and caused millions of people across Spain and Portugal to loose phone and internet services and was unable to even withdraw money from ATMs.
Large areas of Spain and Portugal, including major cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid, Porto and Seville were hit by a power outage.
Damian Cortinas, head of ENTSO-E confirmed that there is no evidence that a cyberattack caused this blackout.
This report comes after several previous investigation by the Spanish government and electricity companies while Spain's national energy regulators and politicians are also carrying out their own separate investigation.
Overvoltage can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient.
However, final report, expected in early 2026 will examine why the power outages surge happened and how the voltage was controlled.
