Red Eléctrica chief refutes claims that renewables caused massive Iberian blackout

The head of Spain’s national power grid operator, Red Eléctrica, has firmly rejected suggestions that the recent massive blackout affecting large parts of the Iberian Peninsula was linked to the integration of renewable energy sources.

In an interview with Spain’s Cadena SER radio, Beatriz Corredor, President of Red Eléctrica, stressed that blaming renewables for the widespread outage was both incorrect and misleading.

“To link the very serious incident that occurred on April 28 to the introduction of renewable energy is incorrect,” Corredor stated. “Renewable energy sources are working steadily.”

She emphasised the extraordinary nature of the event, saying, “This is the first time this has happened in 50 years. It needs to be thoroughly investigated what the cause was.”

Corredor also noted that preliminary reports from the grid operator indicated there was no evidence of a cyberattack, although investigations into the root cause are still ongoing.

The massive and unprecedented blackout struck on April 28, 2025, affecting millions across Spain, Portugal, and parts of southwestern France. The outage began at approximately 12:33 p.m. local time (GMT+2), and quickly cascaded across major urban centres, including Madrid and Barcelona.

Public infrastructure was severely impacted. Metro and high-speed train services were halted, stranding passengers. Traffic lights stopped working, forcing police and local residents to manually manage intersections to prevent accidents. Hospitals relied on emergency generators, while businesses—including major retail chains like Zara—either closed temporarily or struggled to operate without electricity.

Electronic payment systems and ATMs went offline, compelling some shopkeepers to extend informal credit to regular customers or shut their doors altogether. The disruption also forced the suspension of the Madrid Open tennis tournament and caused delays at multiple airports. Oil refineries, including facilities run by Moeve and Petronor, were forced to cease operations.

Tragically, the blackout resulted in several fatalities. Five people are confirmed to have died in incidents related to the power outage. In Galicia’s Ourense province, three members of the same family succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning, believed to have been caused by a generator they were using during the blackout. In the Valencia region, a woman dependent on an oxygen machine died when the device stopped working due to a power failure. In Madrid, another woman lost her life in a fire reportedly sparked by a candle lit during the outage.

Authorities continue to investigate the full scope and consequences of the blackout, which plunged large swaths of the Iberian Peninsula into darkness and brought daily life to a standstill for millions.

By Tamilla Hasanova