Insight: Lessons from the April 2025 Spanish Blackout

On the morning of April 28, 2025, Spain experienced one of the most serious power grid disruptions in recent European history. A sudden failure triggered a cascading outage that affected large parts of the Iberian Peninsula, highlighting both the fragility and complexity of modern energy systems.

While power was impressively restored to 99.95% of the country by 7 a.m. the following day, the blackout has left a lasting impression. In its wake, energy leaders, policy makers, and analysts are urgently re-evaluating the systems and safeguards that underpin national resilience. In our latest report, Joulen’s Jess Fletcher and Daniel Parke dissect the sequence of events and provide an in-depth review of the post-crisis documentation from Spain’s System Operator (REE), the Spanish Government, and Aelec, the country’s national utilities trade association.

This paper explores:

• A minute-by-minute breakdown of the outage — from the initial failure to full recovery
• The technical and political differences across the official reports
• Early recommendations emerging from key stakeholders for preventing future disruptions
• Broader implications for grid resilience and infrastructure planning in Spain and throughout the EU

As Europe pushes forward with renewable integration, smart grids, and cross-border interconnections, the April blackout offers a vital learning opportunity — one that could shape the next decade of energy policy and investment.

Read the full analysis and download the report below.