A massive power outage struck the Iberian Peninsula on April 28, 2025, plunging millions of people into darkness as electricity supplies were suddenly cut across Spain and Portugal. Electric sector sources dismiss the possibility of a simple short circuit, noting that Red Eléctrica has systems to isolate affected areas and prevent nationwide failures under normal circumstances. The recovery process relies heavily on hydroelectric power, as renewable sources cannot provide sufficient grid stability, and gas and nuclear plants require significant time to restart. Red Eléctrica has activated emergency restoration plans, with initial reports indicating power is gradually being restored from the northern and southern regions of the peninsula. Only Spain’s island territories – the Canary Islands and Balearics – were spared due to their independent power generation systems. Cyber Security News is a Dedicated News Platform For Cyber News, Cyber Attack News, Hacking News & Vulnerability Analysis. The Spanish Cybersecurity Coordination Office is investigating, though officials caution it is “too early” to draw definitive conclusions about the cause. The blackout began around 12:30 local time (10:30 GMT) when Spain’s electricity demand suddenly plummeted from 25,184 megawatts to 12,425 megawatts in just moments. Madrid’s Barajas International Airport suspended operations, metro systems in major cities shut down, and telecommunications networks collapsed. Cloudflare Radar data shows internet traffic dropped by approximately 30% in Portugal and 37% in Spain following the outage. Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. Sources from the electric sector suggest a cyberattack is the most likely cause of this unprecedented failure, though authorities have not officially confirmed this. Technical experts refer to this as a “cero energético” – a complete collapse of the electrical system. The outage extended beyond Spain to affect all of Portugal, parts of southern France, and Andorra. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Red Eléctrica’s control center alongside the Minister for Ecological Transition to assess the situation firsthand. Traffic lights failed throughout urban areas, creating chaos at intersections, while many people became trapped in elevators.
This Cyber News was published on cybersecuritynews.com. Publication date: Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:50:00 +0000