The Government of Portugal has announced a major plan to boost the country’s electricity system after a massive blackout in April disrupted power supply across Portugal and Spain, leaving millions in darkness for hours.
The blackout, which happened on April 28, 2025, affected almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. Power went out around 11:30 a.m. in Portugal and 12:30 p.m. in Spain, disrupting daily activities, transportation, internet services, and even hospital operations. The outage lasted until nightfall, and full power was only restored the next morning. Only island regions like the Azores and Canary Islands were not affected.
In response to the incident, Portugal’s Environment and Energy Minister, Maria Graça Carvalho, said the government would invest a total of €137 million (about $159 million) to make sure such an incident does not happen again.
A press briefing in Lisbon on Monday, Minister Carvalho said, “We will be in a better position to manage crisis and minimize its consequences.” She noted that the plan will not only strengthen the national grid but also make critical infrastructure like hospitals more resilient.
The Portuguese government will increase the number of ‘black start’ power stations in the country from two to four. These stations can restart electricity without depending on external power sources. They were crucial in bringing Portugal’s power back independently of Spain after the April blackout.
In addition, €25 million ($29 million) has been earmarked to install solar panels and battery systems in essential facilities, including hospitals and emergency centres. These solar and battery backups are expected to provide continuous power supply in future emergencies, especially when the national grid fails.
Authorities are also reviewing plans to build an interconnection between Portugal and Morocco. Interconnections are high-voltage electricity lines that link the power systems of different countries. They allow for power to be shared across borders during times of shortage or emergency.
Spain’s existing interconnections with Morocco and France played a major role in restoring electricity after the April 28 outage. Portugal, whose electricity grid is closely linked with Spain’s, suffered similar effects when the Spanish system went down.
According to a June investigation by Spanish authorities, the blackout was caused by a surge in voltage in southern Spain. This surge triggered small grid failures which then escalated into a massive cascading collapse of the electric system, cutting off 15 gigawatts of power — about 60% of Spain’s electricity supply — in just five seconds. Because Portugal’s grid is linked to Spain’s, the collapse affected both countries simultaneously.
However, authorities still do not know the exact cause of the original voltage surge, which remains under investigation. An independent panel of experts from the European Union is also carrying out a separate inquiry. A preliminary report released earlier this month confirmed that the power failure likely resulted from a series of unusual voltage surges and disconnections that spread rapidly through both national grids.
The widespread blackout caused heavy disruption. Cellular networks were down in many areas, internet connections failed, rail services stopped, and traffic lights went out in major cities like Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Porto. Emergency services had to rely on generators, and some hospitals ran on backup power for hours.
Portugal’s new investment and recovery plan is designed to build a resilient energy system, improve grid safety, and protect key institutions in case of future emergencies. While the country still awaits the full findings of the EU panel, it is moving ahead with efforts to ensure it never experiences such a widespread outage again.
