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When the power went out initially on Monday, it was assumed it was a local issue, however, it soon became apparent that the blackout was affecting Portugal, Spain and parts of France, with rumours circulating about the possibility of atmospheric issues, fires or even cyber-attacks.
As people realised that the electricity did not look like returning for some time, people soon left work and headed home, when it then became apparent that traffic lights were not functioning fully and transport systems were down.
Transport
In Lisbon and Porto, the metro systems stopped, while airports across the country were facing delays and cancellations. Issues at Lisbon airport continued to affect passengers as late as Wednesday, with passengers stranded at the airport.
One reader told The Portugal News: “I am stuck in Lisbon and have been waiting for my luggage for two days now, lost during the Frankfurt flight (LH1166) in the blackout."
“I tried calling all day, both the airline and the luggage provider Menzies Aviation (HQ in London) but their phone lines are off. Tried to reach their desks at the airport, but it was closed all day. I went to the airport and the staff told me to come back at 10pm. Came back at 10pm and they told me that Lufthansa is using Menzies Aviation, which is not working today. There were people waiting for two days with life-saving medicines in their luggage. More than 10 employees with Menzies Aviation’s vests (usually poorly hiding the logo) passed us that ignoring us”.
Communications
As the day progressed, it soon became clear that the lack of power was affecting not only the phone network but also the internet, leaving millions of people without the ability to contact loved ones or find out any further information about the situation.
The lack of phone communication also led to constraints in contacting the emergency services. Another reader told The Portugal News: “We had gone to the beach and one of my friends ended up getting into trouble in the sea. We tried to call 112, but there was nothing. Our friend ended up being rescued by people on the beach and we managed to find a GNR officer who was able to radio for an ambulance to come and care for our friend. It was scary”.
As the day came to a close, electricity was being restored slowly across the country however, the water was beginning to be cut off in places where there was still no electricity.
Power on
By 7:45 am on Tuesday, 29 April, the national E-Redes network operator said that all electricity services in Portugal had been “fully restored and normalised” and described the blackout as an “absolutely exceptional event” with an external origin”.
While Portugal and Spain work to return to normal fully, questions are being asked about not only the cause of the blackout, which at the time of going to press had still not been divulged by either the Portuguese or Spanish authorities, but also about the response of the Portuguese government to an emergency on such a large scale.
Reasons
When asked about the possibility that an excess of renewable energy in the energy system was the cause of the blackout, REN director João Faria Conceição considered the idea plausible, although "not the only one".
"Apparently, and according to the Spanish authorities, cyber issues have been ruled out and so now we have to focus on exactly what happened," he stressed.
João Faria Conceição also stated that renewable energies are "a safe energy source" that has a series of characteristics, "specifically, its volatility", which must be accommodated in the management of any electrical system to mitigate the effects of this volatility.
The head of REN stressed that the blackout that occurred this Monday and affected Portugal, Spain and the south of France was "absolutely extraordinary", but warned that "there is not zero risk" of the situation repeating itself.
Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920
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As a portuguese citizen with dual nationality, I was surprised to find that internet services on mobile devices went down fairly quickly after the outage, followed by emergency call only. This meant there was no way to contact anyone except police - no checking up on family members or friends.
In other areas such as Spain, reports stated an almost immediate lack of mobile service after the blackout.
Mobile service MUST be independant of the power grid in case of failure. In many countries including Canada, each cell tower has to have its own backup generator that would allow for days of backup. In a major ice storm years ago in Ontario, we had full cellular service during the 4 day blackout.
It's shocking that mobile service only lasted about 2 hours in portugal in our area.
What will happen if there is a war? Infrastructure is the second area to be attacked! Not to mention severe weather, etc.
Politicians should stop talking so much and start implementing a similar law - reliable lasting backup for each cell tower and mobile processing center.
By Paul from Algarve on 01 May 2025, 05:27
I came up with this poem:
The Day The Internet Died
The day the internet died wi-fi disappeared,
Phones no longer worked,
Social media were no more,
Googling came to a standstill.
The day the internet died panic buying began,
Covid lockdown-style queues at supermarkets,
Fully laden shopping trolleys,
Bottled water, candles, nightlights,
Fruit and vegetables,
Cat food too.
The day the internet died traffic became much less,
Electric cars could no longer charge,
Planes and trains were cancelled too.
The day the internet died people walked where they were going,
Neighbours talked with neighbours out on the streets.
The day the internet died the town went dark when darkness fell.
The people waited in hope for the return of the light.
By Steve Andrews from Other on 01 May 2025, 10:18
A very interesting article explaining the Iberian power cut and how the complex EU electrical grid system works:
By David from Algarve on 01 May 2025, 10:20
As an ex-African now living in Portugal for more than 5 years, I also found it profound that the grid went down, but more so, the fact that the telecommunication system was also affected and to a lesser degree water supply, where water is pumped from rivers to reservoir tanks for human usage.
The Cellphone and telecommunication companies better make sure, that their networks are robust and can run without grid-power for days and weeks and even months!
Where I come from, this is a given with the rolling blackouts since 2008 happening there and the Cell operators made sure their equipment works, even without grid power! Water is another issue as it needs power for pumping water to the right places. If this outage was a day or more, water issues would have been a bigger problem!
Another question to the Portuguese authorities. Why did the EREDES network not handle the grid when Spain went down? They made such a fuzz about the fact that solar, wind and water energy was able to run the grid. It seems these networks are interconnected for the wrong reasons. Besides, green energy in Europe is NOT sustainable and everyone knows this! What about nuclear, coal plants? Why are they trying to cripple the European continent with non-functional or even sustainable green power that doesn't work without wind and sun?
I know, but are not allowed to say why on this paper network!
By NN from Beiras on 01 May 2025, 12:29
Unfortunately in the event of a war you quickly realise your are living in a de facto third world country.
Nothing worked during the black out,So if putins tanks were rolling in we would have no idea until the tanks formed blockades around all roads cities towns and villages.
Food for thought
A Satellite phone seems a very sensible bit of kit as well as camping gas,torches mathes ligthers tinned and dried food survival water filter bottle.Water first aid kit emergency blankets wind up radio.Thats just for starters.
EVs are hopeless when the grid is down and that is wroth bearing in mind as we are all bullied into buying one.
Cash is king as you couldnt buy anything with a card.
By James from Algarve on 01 May 2025, 12:34
The power cut day, coincided with the most violent wind for many a day. Wind turbines have an auto cut out when the wind speed is too high, to self protect the turbine. We have been told that Portugal has around 80% generation of 'renewable sources' (Wind and Sun). If there is a big drop in power creation logic dictates it will have an effect. Imagine no sun and it is also so windy ALL turbines switch off, we lose 80% of power. We have a network to rely though in other areas and nearby countries. But what if they suffer from similar weather conditions? So renewables are great, until this happens, then the country needs a quick back-up that is reliable (like having a reserve generator at home for example) what is the countries reserve power source. Oh we cannot use it, as we will damage the planet! NET ZERO is great in theory, but at present nor feasible at present.
I have mentioned this others and listened to news reports and it ia all fanciful (Putin) and far fetched and lacking in sense. Look at the obvious and work back as you tick off the logical reasons first. Or just go straight for 'Alien interaction with our planet, or similar ...yes that makes sense !???
By David Regan from Algarve on 01 May 2025, 13:07
Portugal has demonstrated the ability to run entirely on renewable energy for extended periods, including over four days in May 2016 and for six consecutive days in the fall of 2023. These renewable energy sources include wind, hydro, and solar power. While Portugal has made significant strides in renewable energy production, the country's electricity needs are consistently met by renewable sources for 95% of the time.
By Rodwell van Wyk from Other on 01 May 2025, 16:48
How can you not see this was due to the CME coronal mass ejection from the sun hitting EU in the face?.
Reach out if you need sustainability. This was exactly what happened in 1850s on so called Carrington event. Seems everyone forgotten their history!!!!
Regards
By Nuno Miguel Tavares from Other on 01 May 2025, 19:18