Spanish grid operator Red Electrica’s boss has said she is not considering resigning as the energy firm faces mounting pressure while officials hunt for the cause of the major power outage that hit Spain and Portugal on Monday.
Chairwoman Beatriz Corredor said it was incorrect to link the massive blackout that hit the countries to the high share of renewable energy in the country’s total generation.
“I am not contemplating resignation”, she told radio station Cadena SER.
The firm posted on social media in praise of their response to the blackout that hit Europe at 12.30pm earlier this week, which brought transport to a standstill, wiped out mobile network and Wi-Fi coverage and water access for some.
“In less than 24 hours, they have turned around an unprecedented situation thanks to their dedication and professionalism.We continue working with the same vocation of service.”
This comes as Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez met with grid operators asking for their co-operation in finding the cause, he said: “We must undertake the necessary improvements to guarantee the supply and future competitiveness of our system.”
Experts say Spain-Portugal blackout is a warning
Millions across Spain and Portugal were left in the dark on Monday as an unprecedented power outage brought much of the Iberian peninsula to a standstill.
It took almost 23 hours for Spain’s electrical grid to declare that systems were back up and running as normal, with the outage affecting traffic lights, street lamps, payment terminals, and screens. Domestic and international transport was badly hit with metro systems grinding to a halt and communication networks faltering, leaving many wondering what had gone wrong. Hundreds of flights were canceled at airports across Spain and Portugal.
The governments of both countries are still in the dark about the reason for the mass electrical outage. Spain’s national power company, Red Eléctrica, said it did not have “definitive conclusions” about the reasons for the outage.
Conspiracy theories began popping up, including international sabotage, a cyber attack or even renewables being responsible for the outage.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez said his government had not ruled out any hypothesis. "We must not rush to (conclusions) and (commit) errors through haste," Mr Sanchez said on Tuesday.
Stuti Mishra and Shweta Sharma report:
What caused the Spain and Portugal blackouts?
From cyber attack to blame on renewables, conspiracy theories have exploded in wake of Spain and Portugal’s power outage
Bryony Gooch1 May 2025 00:02
Red Electrica boss reaffirms company's success restoring power supply as pressure mounts
Red Electrica president Beatriz Corredor has expressed her gratitude to the teams at the grid operator who worked “day and night” to overcome the blackout.
The company affirmed they were able to do it in “record time. Without a single mistake. Without rest.”
“In less than 24 hours, they have turned around an unprecedented situation thanks to their dedication and professionalism.We continue working with the same vocation of service.”
This follows mounting pressure from Spain’s opposition as the cause of the blackout remains unknown.
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 23:01
Spain-Portugal power outage in numbers
The power outage across Spain and Portugal lasted 11 hours, from around 12:30pm local time til 10:30pm at night
30,000 police were deployed across the country to keep order as Spain’s interior ministry declared a state of emergency.
Emergency services in Madrid saw nearly 5,000 calls from the start of the blackout at 12.33pm on Monday until 7am next day.
In Catalonia, there were around 14,000 calls to 112 between noon on Monday and 8am Tuesday, rising from approximately 7,100 calls received on a usual day.
The Valencian Community recorded nearly 32,000 calls, the highest among regions that shared data, while the Basque Country received 3,500 - twice the usual number - mostly for elevator rescues and power issues.
At least seven people died during the power outage, with authorities continuing to investigate how the blackout may have impacted fatalities.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said that the country suffered a loss of 15GW of electricity generation in five seconds, equivalent to 60 per cent of national demand.
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 22:01
Inside 12 hours of chaos in Spain during an unprecedented power blackout
Inside 12 hours of chaos in Spain during an unprecedented power blackout
From people being unable to withdraw money or fill up with petrol, to those hit by train and flight cancellations, Alicia Fabregas reports from Barcelona on the impact of Spain’s mass power cut
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 21:01
Electric grid suffered two 'disconnection events'
More is through from Spanish electricity grid operator REE, which we earlier reported had ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack in its early assessments.
The electricity system was hit by a dramatic power generation loss in southwestern Spain, that caused instability in the system that led to its disconnection from the French grid.
Systems recovered from the first disconnection, but the second one triggered power cuts across Spain and Portugal.
That’s according to the company’s system operations chief Eduardo Prieto, who said quite possible that the affected generation was solar, but it was to early to say for sure.
Mr Prieto said on Tuesday the system was now stable and working normally.
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 20:01
Recap: What have we learnt on Wednesday?
It remains unclear just what caused the blackout that affected tens of millions of people in Portugal and Spain, but here are the latest updates on the incident:
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for answers over the cause of the blackout and co-operation from the private energy sector to understand waht happened.
- Grid operator Red Electrica Beatriz Corredor backtracked on claims that the blackout was linked to renewable energy in the country’s total generation.
- She added that the government had set a deadline of Wednesday afternoon to send on any data that might be helpful in understanding the cause of the blackout.
- She is not considering resigning, amid growing pressure.
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 19:01
What we know about the Spain-Portugal power outage
On Monday at 12.30pm, large areas of Spain, Portugal and even parts of France experienced a major power outage.
Transport was brought to a standstill as traffic lights, metro services and gas stations were unable to work.
Mobile networks and Wi-Fi were halted by the blackout which left people unable to contact each other or even access basic sources of information.
People couldn’t even use water supplies in some areas where water pumps were electrically activated.
It is estimated that tens of millions of people were hit by the outage, with capital cities Lisbon and Madrid particularly affected.
By 10.30pm on Monday evening, both countries were able to restore power supply almost fully.
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 18:00
Mapped: The moment power dropped off in Spain and Portugal's power outage
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 17:32
EXCLUSIVE: An estimated 80,000 passengers had their flights cancelled because of the power outage
After the power outage around noon on Monday 28 April hobbled airports, airlines and air-traffic control systems in Spain and Portugal, the final flight cancellation count has just been announced by aviation analysts Cirium.
Passengers travelling to, from and within Spain encountered 413 cancellations, while the score for Portugal is 372.
But because many of those are links between the two countries, and are therefore “double counted”, The Independent believes the true total is around 500 – affecting an estimated 80,000 passengers.
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent, reports:
Tens of thousands stranded by flight cancellations after Spain-Portugal power outage
Exclusive: An estimated 80,000 passengers had their flights cancelled, including 4,000 to or from the UK
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 17:04
WATCH: Sanchez says Spain will not allow blackout again and vows accountability for private companies
Bryony Gooch30 April 2025 16:30
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