As of 7:00 AM Tuesday, 99.95% of Spain’s electricity demand had been restored, following one of the most significant blackouts in national history. Just an hour earlier, the figure was already above 99%. Red Eléctrica confirmed via social platform X that 100% of Spain’s 680 national transmission substations are now operational. The Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition later echoed the news on Bluesky.
While the exact cause of the blackout remains unknown, one conclusion is clear: Spain recovered from the collapse efficiently. Authorities have also ruled out any possibility of a cyberattack.
The system failure was first detected at 12:33 PM on Monday, triggering immediate response protocols from Red Eléctrica, generation companies, and government agencies. But beyond domestic coordination, the electrical reboot began beyond Spain’s borders — in France, Morocco, and a network of hydroelectric plants specifically equipped for this type of emergency.
How the Recovery Happened
Spain’s neighboring countries activated their cross-border transmission lines to send power into Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Andalusia. These initial “energy islands” helped re-activate auxiliary systems and eventually radiated electricity across the rest of the Iberian Peninsula — like an oil stain spreading across a map.
Simultaneously, hydropower plants in the Duero, Tagus, Pyrenees, and Levante river basins—capable of restarting autonomously—synchronized with the grid and expanded the energized zones. Their role mirrored that of France and Morocco: establish initial voltage zones and gradually expand them until full interconnection was possible.
Red Eléctrica announced by 9:00 PM Monday that the national grid was fully unified again, with no isolated “energy islands” remaining.
What Power Sources Helped Most
Two types of power generation were critical:
Hydropower, for its ability to start independently. Combined-cycle gas plants, which can ramp up relatively quickly when needed.
While nuclear power plays a stabilizing role long-term, its plants require up to 12 hours to resume generation. During the blackout, Spanish nuclear operators declared a pre-alert emergency status due to loss of external grid supply and halted production as a precaution.
What About the Islands?
Spain’s island territories — including the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla — were not affected by the mainland blackout, thanks to their autonomous energy systems. However, this does not make them more resilient. In fact, islands are more vulnerable to localized outages, except for Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, which are interconnected by an undersea cable.
Red Eléctrica praised the swift response at a press conference, noting that although this was the first time full-scale emergency protocols had to be executed, the system “performed well under pressure.”
With the sun rising, solar generation was expected to resume and strengthen grid stability throughout the day.