New report shows that the power outage in Spain in April is not due to cyber attacks – country
Six weeks after Spain and Portugal suffered massive power outages, Madrid authorities released a formal report on Tuesday saying the power outages in April that had tens of millions disconnected within seconds were caused by technical and planning errors, causing the grid to fail.
Sara Aagesen, Spanish Minister of Ecological Transitions, who is responsible for U.S. energy policy, said in a press conference that the small grid failure concentrated in southern Spain, resulting in a larger grid response.
She completely ruled that the failure was due to a cyber attack.
April 28th began suddenly after 12:30 pm in Spain and continued until nightfall, destroying businesses, transportation systems, cellular networks, internet connectivity and other critical infrastructure. Spain lost 15 GW of electricity, accounting for about 60% of its supply. The grids of Portugal and Spain were connected together and also dropped. Only the state's island territory is spared.
“All of this happens in 12 seconds, and most of the power loss occurs in just five seconds,” Eggson said.
In the early morning of the next day, the power supply was fully restored.
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The minister said there were several technical reasons that contributed to the activity, including the grid operators’ “poor planning” that they did not find a replacement for a power plant that could have helped balance the fluctuations in power. She also said that some smaller substations can preventively shut down interference when they may stay online to help manage the system.
The government's report includes analysts from the Spanish national security agency, and according to the minister, there is no indication of cyber disruption by foreign participants.
The only reliable information published publicly shortly after the system collapsed came from the Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica, who narrowed the source of the interruption to two separate incidents in southern Spain where the substation failed.
In the weeks following the outage, citizens and experts wondered what triggered an event in an area known for the outage and sparked a heated debate on whether Spain’s high levels of renewable capacity are related to grid failure.
Spain is the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, generating nearly 57% of electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources such as wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phased out its nuclear power plants.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez opposes this speculation and defends renewable energy. He demanded patience and said his administration would not “dial off a single millimeter” energy transition plan, which includes generating 81% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030.
–Joseph Wilson is from Barcelona, Spain.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
