Spain’s electricity grid returned to normal nearly twenty-three hours after a national blackout disrupted daily life across the country and parts of Portugal. The outage, which began on Monday afternoon, was triggered by two separate connection failures in southwestern Spain and a temporary disconnection from the French grid.

At the peak of the crisis, around sixty percent of Spain’s power generation collapsed, causing widespread transportation disruptions and leaving millions without electricity. Only the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Spanish enclaves in North Africa were unaffected.

Spain’s energy mix, heavily reliant on solar and wind power, faced challenges during the restoration. Minutes before the blackout, solar energy accounted for over sixty percent of generation. The recovery process required a carefully phased restart to avoid overloading the system, beginning with hydroelectric plants and combined-cycle gas plants. Several nuclear reactors had shut down automatically and remained offline.

Support came from neighboring countries. Morocco supplied nine hundred megawatts through high-voltage lines crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. France restored a four-hundred-kilovolt connection to Catalonia and gradually increased supply to up to two thousand megawatts, helping stabilize the northern and western regions.

By Monday evening, over one-fifth of Spain’s electricity demand was restored. The percentage rose steadily, reaching more than ninety-nine percent by early Tuesday morning.

The blackout had a significant impact on the economy, with business organizations estimating losses of around one point six billion euros. Hospitals relied on backup generators, police forces assisted stranded passengers, and local communities provided emergency shelters. Airports remained operational using auxiliary power systems, and many Spaniards turned to car radios and battery-operated devices for information.

Political leaders have begun exchanging criticism over the handling of the crisis, while energy experts continue to warn about vulnerabilities associated with the country’s growing reliance on renewable energy.