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Cyberattack, Net Zero or freak weather accident? Cause of Spain's mystery power outage remains unclear
There is still no official explanation for what caused the blackout in Spain and parts of Europe, but officials aren’t ruling anything out
Spain has suffered its most extensive power outage in modern history, a sudden and unexplained blackout that left millions without electricity for hours across the entire Iberian Peninsula and even parts of southern France.
The unprecedented failure saw 60% of Spain’s electricity supply vanish in just five seconds, an event described by energy authorities as unlike anything the country has ever experienced.
Red Eléctrica, Spain’s electricity grid operator, said power would be gradually restored over a six to 10-hour window, though the reasons for the outage remain under investigation. Spanish President Pedro Sánchez confirmed that no hypothesis has been dismissed, stating: “All potential causes are being analysed, without ruling out any hypothesis.”
One possible cause being considered is that a freak weather event may have knocked out part of the energy network, but Spain’s State Meterological Agency (Aemet) has said that it did not detetct any weather phenomena that could have possibly caused the blackout.
The scale and speed of the outage have triggered speculation about a possible cyberattack, with media outlets and public figures adding fuel to the fire. One such voice, retired army general Rafael Dávila Álvarez, suggested that some governments might already know what happened but are withholding information. Without naming names directly, he hinted that “two nations” were fully aware of the event’s origins and capabilities, referencing the possibility of digital warfare.
Yet, despite widespread rumours, there is no official evidence so far to support the cyberattack theory. As Sánchez warned: “It’s better not to speculate – we are focusing on restoring electricity to homes.”
A 2024 report warned of the high risk of outages in Spain
This latest incident comes amid ongoing concerns about Europe’s energy vulnerability. The 2024 European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA) had already raised alarms about the potential for widespread blackouts across the continent. According to the report, certain parts of Europe, including Spain, could face up to five hours of outages per year by 2028 due to energy transition risks, underinvestment in flexible capacity and increasing reliance on renewables.
The report warned that while the shift to renewable energy is essential for achieving the EU’s Net Zero goals by 2050, the phase-out of fossil fuel and nuclear plants must be carefully managed to avoid gaps in supply. It recommended ramping up investment in flexible generation and storage solutions, particularly as older plants are retired between 2026 and 2035.
Red Eléctrica, however, disputed claims that Spain is at imminent risk. In an April 9 post on X (formerly Twitter), the company reassured the public: “There is no risk of blackout,” stating that the ERAA report’s main takeaway was the economic vulnerability of combined-cycle plants, not an actual threat to supply.
While this week’s blackout may appear to confirm some of the ERAA’s warnings, it is not the first time Spain has experienced serious power failures. In 2019, Tenerife endured a nine-hour blackout caused by a technical failure at a local substation. A similar incident in 2007 left 350,000 homes in Barcelona without power for four days. And in 2001, over 200,000 people across Catalonia suffered outages due to grid issues.
At the same time, social media is going into overdrive – in places where internet access has returned – with memes and conspiracy theories. For instance, the European Commission’s recent advice for all households to maintain a 72-hour emergency kit, issued in March, is now being viewed by some with suspicion that someone knew this was coming at this precise moment.
As always when faced with the unknown, theories and hypotheses abound, claiming foreknowledge or planned disruption by a sinister and unnamed agent, although all these conspiracies remain purely in the realm of speculation.
What is clear is that the blackout has revived long-standing debates about energy security and infrastructure resilience in the face of climate goals. With Spain planning to close all of its nuclear power plants between 2027 and 2035, and with fossil fuel capacity expected to decline, questions are growing about how to ensure stable power supplies during the energy transition, though there is no clear evidence that the Net Zero goals and the green energy transition is at all to blame for the power cut.
President Sánchez underscored in statements to the press this Tuesday that a lack of power from nuclear sources in Spain’s energy network is not to blame, and in fact the country’s close links to France and Moroccan energy sources helped Spain to recover normality.
In fact, he said, the nuclear power plants were a hindrance rather than a help during the crisis situation as large amounts of energy were still needed to keep their cores stable, even though they shut down and were not producing any electricity.
Red Eléctrica, meanwhile, has totally ruled out that the blackout could have been caused by a cybersecurity incident at its facilities, concluding that “there has not been any type of intrusion in the control systems that could have caused the incident”.
Rather, they suspect a massive disconnection of solar plants in the southwest of Spain prior to the blackout which could have triggered the total collapse of the network.
For now, the exact cause of the blackout remains a mystery, pending an official investigation. Whether it was triggered by a cyberattack, a cascading technical failure, a rare accident or something else remains to be seen.
Until then, speculation will continue to swirl. But as Sánchez reiterated, it is for specialists – not the media or the public – to determine what truly went wrong, and until such time we should not spread unfounded rumours.
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