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Spain’s blackout wasn’t an accident — Here’s what leaked

By Tarek Salame • Published: 23 May 2025 • 20:19 • 2 minutes read

Silhouette of an electricity transmission tower with sun peeking through

When the grid goes dark, the truth comes to light. Credit: Canva

On April 28, 2025, the lights went out across Spain and Portugal; at the time, it was called the historic blackout—the most significant failure of its kind in a developed country in decades. But now, according to reports cited by “The Telegraph”, it could be something else entirely, an experiment. Not a freak accident, an infrastructure glitch, but a deliberate stress test of Spain’s grid under the intense renewable loads, allegedly carried out without public knowledge. If this is true, then it is no longer an energy story, but a crisis of trust. 

Did the government test the limits? 

The sources quoted by “The Telegraph” claim that the administration of Pedro Sánchez has intentionally pushed the grid way beyond safe limits in an effort to measure Spain in terms of replacing nuclear energy with renewables. A stress test, they say gone wrong. And it could not have come at a worse time, Spain is poised to begin phasing out its own nuclear reactors from 2027. 

The ruling of the PSOE, Socialist Workers’ Party, states that this transition symbolises progress, independence, and climate commitment. But progress without transparency is a dangerous gamble. If this “experiment” was real and undisclosed, then the implication is that the government played dice with a national system that prevents hospitals, transport, and lives.

Political backlash

It is alleged that the government gambled by installing a party loyalist with zero sector experience at the top of Red Eléctrica, the public-private operator of Spain’s grid, who makes a salary six times higher than that of the prime minister, is now fueling outrage. More than 60% of Spaniards now blame the government as well as the grid operator. If the blackout was actually a “controlled experiment”, an “electoral oblivion” can follow. It is a worst-case scenario where a secret test, political cronyism, and an energy system are exposed. 

But is all this entirely fair? This prompts a growing backlash that will cast renewable energy as the villain, when in fact, the blackout may reveal more about the political structure than the power sources. Critics have argued this is less a failure of renewables and more a failure of readiness, an overconfidence paired with underbuilding. With nuclear plants set to close, the EU climate is looming, and the pressure to prove readiness is tremendous. But trust collapses faster than the grid when these experiments happen in the dark. 

What now?

If Spain wants to maintain its leadership in renewables, it must confront the implications of this blackout head-on: Was it an experiment or mismanagement? A full public audit is essential. Can the grid handle the next surge? Investments in storage, stability, and smart infrastructure are non-negotiable. Will renewables take the blame? The government must separate the image from its political side to ensure the future of green energy itself. Because whatever the cause, the blackout gave many sceptics and political opportunists the perfect storm.

Electricity is not about keeping the lights on; it represents confidence in the future, leadership, and a system built to protect us. On April 28th, that symbol changed. The question now isn’t the grid blackout; it’s whether the accountability that follows will be accounted for. Spain needs to rebuild public trust before the next outage becomes more than a technicality, but a political issue. 

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Written by

Tarek Salame

Tarek is a writer and digital marketer based in Barcelona, with a passion for turning complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives. With a background in marketing communications, tech, and content strategy, he has worked across industries ranging from cloud computing and fintech to fire safety and science. At Euro Weekly News, he contributes thoughtful, accessible stories that connect readers with topics shaping the modern world.

Comments

    • Conrad Mueller

      24 May 2025 • 09:47

      It was said a few weeks ago by a commenter of the EWN that the person we an electrical engineer and he said it should never have happened by accident because there are so many safety cut outs in the power grid system so I genuinely believe it was deliberate act by the government. These zealots of Net Zero are a very dangerous group of people. Only in Europe and Canada is this crazy cult of utter madness allowed to destroy great countries. The people of Europe better wake up soon or there will be no Europe left. Net Zero is a scam, only crazies like the EU are doing this. While China, India, America and the rest of the world get on with their lives our great countries are being bludgeoned to death and for what? The biggest lie on the planet, the FAKE NET ZERO NONSENSE. Spain is becoming a dangerous place, remember it was a SIMILAR TEST of the NUCLEAR REACTOR AT CHERNOBYL IN 1986. A disaster that could have killed millions of Europeans. And now Spain is doing the same without telling the people of Spain its intensions. This will not end well if allowed to continue.

      • DJH

        27 May 2025 • 13:16

        Agree with Conrad, net zero is utter madness. The change rate is cliff edge without safety nets and the percentage change to the whole is still debatable.

      • dan

        04 June 2025 • 02:46

        I’m surprised you think only Europe and Canada are mad. You may add Australia with its labor party to that list.

    • Manny Cohen

      24 May 2025 • 09:54

      This article is a bit scary if true, I see a comment by a Mr. Mueller and it also rings bells. If true the Spanish government is completely out of order. It cost / lost Billions of Euros to companies and organisations who hopefully will sue the Spanish government for redress of monies lost. But us little people we have no chance. We appear to count for nothing in Spain and the EU in general. We have governments that just do as they please, no consultation with the people, laws and Decrees introduced daily. We are definitely living in worrying times and what is worse our own governments appear to hate their own people.

    • Alan Bowman

      24 May 2025 • 12:10

      Personally, I think it was a good thing. It has encouraged us to think about our vulnerability and develop a plan for emergency preparedness beyond what our store-cupboard mentality had set up. We have already got ourselves a battery operated radio to go alongside our food and water stores and we possibly need to boost our store of non perishable foodstuffs. We are also considering an emergency power supply to keep fridges and freezer working.

      • Jamie Webb

        25 May 2025 • 09:26

        Alan, you are totally correct, it certainly was an eye opener and for many people we should be doing exactly as you are doing. A small generator, some fuel, lots of water and food plus a weapon or two because people will be extremely vulnerable to outside forces.

    • Dawne Gardner

      24 May 2025 • 14:52

      Telegraph again throwing mud at the Spanish

      • Linda Smythe

        25 May 2025 • 09:22

        This is not throwing mud as it did happen. And more than likely to happen again.

    Comments are closed.

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