When everything went dark: Spain and Portugal faced their biggest energy crisis

April 28, 2025, will be remembered in the contemporary history of the Iberian Peninsula as the day when, in a matter of seconds, modernity collapsed and millions of citizens were trapped in an era without electricity, without communication, and without clear explanations.

What began at 12:33 as an unexpected power outage became the largest blackout recorded in the recent history of Spain and Portugal.

Trains stopped, hospitals operating with generators, traffic lights out, roads jammed, elevators with people trapped, and a bewildered citizenry were just some of the scenes of a day that transformed routine into chaos.

Neither large cities nor small towns escaped a widespread paralysis that left two entire countries—with the exception of islands and autonomous cities— in darkness for hours.

The big question: What caused it?

As power slowly returned, fundamental questions emerged: What caused it? Could it have been avoided? Will it happen again? Authorities, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, insisted that there is still no definitive cause.

Spanish Electricity Grid He noted a "very sharp fluctuation in power flows" that caused the sudden disappearance of 15 gigawatts of generation—60% of the country's electricity—forcing the disconnection of the Spanish grid from the European system. An anomaly of unprecedented proportions that, however, still lacks a sufficient technical and political explanation.

In parallel, the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) announced on April 29 that it will open an official investigation to analyze the causes of the incident and the behavior of the electricity operators involved.

From energy crisis to reputation crisis

In this context of uncertainty, institutional management is exposed to a crisis that is not only energy-related, but also reputational.

Because when a blackout not only paralyzes modern life but also leaves an entire population without answers for almost 24 hours, trust suffers. Even more so when the only official certainty is the absence of certainty.

That something like this should happen in countries belonging to the European Union, with advanced infrastructures and interconnected networks, and that no concrete explanation or clear assumption of responsibility is offered, projects an image of institutional fragility that is difficult to justify to the international community.

The “absolutely exceptional incident,” as Red Eléctrica called it, then becomes a global warning about the unexpected… and how badly it can be managed.

In situations like this, countries face a Deep reputational damage, in which public perception is damaged by a lack of clarity, effectiveness, and leadership. This damage not only affects the institutional image, but also international trust and future investment.

An institutional response limited by reality

The government's initial response was to activate emergency committees, convene the National Security Council, and appeal for public calm.

The population was asked to avoid travel, use cell phones wisely, and rely only on official channels. But the truth is that many of these recommendations were impractical in reality: mobile networks were saturated or inoperative, public transportation was paralyzed, and information—when it arrived at all—came in dribs and drabs.

In parallel, the Official State Gazette published the Resolution of April 29, 2025 ( BOE-A-2025-8486 ), in which the state of energy emergency is formally declared in the peninsula and exceptional measures are authorized, such as the priority activation of strategic reserves, the temporary suspension of commercial energy exchanges with Portugal and the direct intervention of the network by the State.

This resolution not only confirmed the seriousness of the event, but also institutionalized a situation that, until then, had been managed in a reactive manner and with little transparency in information.

Tangible consequences in all sectors

At the same time, the material consequences multiplied. Industries such as the automotive industry halted production, thousands of passengers spent the night in train stations and airports, and financial activity was reduced to cash transactions due to the failure of ATMs and payment terminals.

Even large telecommunications companies needed to activate internal crisis committees, while the Bank of Spain monitored the resilience of the banking system in real time.

Portugal points the finger at Spain and requests a European audit

Portugal, connected to the Spanish system, experienced a similar collapse. The images from Portugal were almost identical: a halted metro system, gridlocked traffic, overcrowded businesses, and a misinformed population. However, the political approach was different.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro was categorical in stating that " everything points to the blackout originating in Spain," absolving his country of any technical responsibility for the failure.

Although he ruled out a cyberattack, requested an independent European audit to clarify the incident and assess the robustness of the Iberian energy system.

Furthermore, REN —the Portuguese National Electricity Grid— suspended energy trade with Spain as a precaution, refusing to offer a timeframe for its restoration.

Political tensions also within Portugal

Internally, Montenegro praised the citizens' reaction, but did not avoid criticism. Opposition leader Pedro Nuno Santos accused him of a "lack of leadership" and a lack of clear guidelines at the most critical moment.

The crisis also erupted into the Portuguese election campaign, where it was not the far right but the center-left that raised the bar against the government's management. Thus, the blackout not only cut off electricity but also ignited political tensions in Lisbon.

A lesson on institutional vulnerability

Beyond the ideological tensions, this blackout marks a turning point. Not only because of its magnitude, but also because of the vulnerability it has exposed.

That in the 21st century, two European countries are reduced to the analog era without knowing why, or if it could happen again, directly challenges the structures responsible for the energy system, digital governance, and emergency response mechanisms. Technical uncertainty is one thing. Institutional ambiguity is quite another.

The hardest thing to recover is not the light, it's the trust

By 8:00 a.m. the following Tuesday, 99.95% of power had been restored. But the real restoration we should be concerned about now is that of confidence.

Spain and Portugal not only need to offer a comprehensive technical explanation. They must also rebuild their reputation as reliable territories, with robust infrastructure and operational leadership in crisis scenarios. What happened on April 28th wasn't just a power outage: it was a blackout of certainties. And when it comes to reputation, that's much harder to ignite.