A day in the dark - Catalonia left powerless after blackout

On April 28, 2025, a massive blackout affected Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and parts of France, leaving over 50 million people without power for up to 12 hours. This week on Filling the Sink, we investigate the causes and find out how it affected people across Catalonia.

Catalan News journalists Gerard Escaich Folch, Lorcan Doherty and Cillian Shields join host Beth Cohen to relive some of the darkest moments of Monday’s blackout. The outage halted trains, disrupted work for many, and cut telecommunications and internet services. We took to the streets of Barcelona to meet some affected people and find out how businesses and city infrastructures coped.

At the time of publishing, the exact cause of the blackout has not yet been confirmed, however, the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) and the national police are still investigating. The main hypothesis is an operational failure of the Red Eléctrica power grid caused by instability in the system, possibly related to high reliance on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind as opposed to synchronous sources such as gas, nuclear, or hydroelectric energy. We analyze the government response and political fallout, as well as discuss how citizens should prepare for possible future events on this scale. 

This week, our Catalan phrase is “Estar com un llum” - which translates as “to be like a light” and means to be unstable or even a bit crazy. It originates from the early days of electricity, when light bulbs used to flicker and fade rather than providing a constant glow.