Iberia blackout 2025 blamed on a cascade of grid factors

An unprecedented blackout in April 2025 cut power across Spain and Portugal, with some areas offline for up to 16 hours. Entso-e’s final report says there was no single cause; a mix of interacting factors on the Spanish grid—voltage controls not aligned with the grid operator, manual voltage management slowing responses, Spain’s wider voltage range, and inadequate reactive power assets—triggered a sudden voltage rise and cascading generation. Portugal was affected due to its close interconnection. The report stops short of blame but recommends better coordination among transmission and distribution operators and other energy-system players to prevent a recurrence.