“Uncontrolled surge”: Spain knows (a little) more about the general blackout

In a report released on June 17, the government apportioned responsibility for the massive April 28 blackout between the electricity companies and the Spanish high-voltage grid operator. The latter was quick to defend itself, according to the local press.

A man and a child stroll through the covered market in Vigo, Galicia, during the blackout that plunged Spain into darkness on April 28, 2025. PHOTO MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP

"The cause of the outage remains shrouded in anonymity," whispers the Madrid-based media outlet El Español . A month and a half after the April 28 blackout, the Spanish government drew conclusions on June 17 about this improbable event that plunged a large part of the Iberian Peninsula into darkness for several hours. This report was expected by the end of July at the latest.

The working group led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition concluded that the Spanish electricity system “was particularly vulnerable” on the day of the outage, reports the left-wing website InfoLibre .

Citing a “multifactorial” problem, the government divides responsibilities between the Spanish high-voltage network operator, Red Eléctrica (of which the State owns 20%), accused of having failed in its “planning” for April 28, and the energy companies, for not having respected “their obligations”