13 hours blackout

A personal recount of the events of 28 April 2025 in Barcelona, Spain during a country-wide electricity and communication blackout and its impact on lives in a mostly cashless economy.

Today, April 29th, my friends and colleagues across the world are asking me what it felt to go through an energy event a European country had not seen for this long in a long time. So here are a few anecdotes and observations I could make during the day. Don’t take them for more than what it is, a personal story.

So, at 12:33, the power went out. I work in a brand new office we just moved in, on the 12th floor. It’s Monday morning and a few colleagues are there. Not many. We all look at each other in surprise. Is this because the office in new? Is it us? Is Internet still working? We can definitely hear the generator that immediately kicked in. Its vibration are felt in the office. I wonder if it’s because they are on the roof and we are on the last floor.

I quickly go to the window to look at the construction site next door. Are they also affected by the power cut? Hard to tell. The cranes aren’t moving, but the workers are. Some are using power tools. My eyes move to the roads nearby. Traffic lights are definitely not working. It’s the whole block that is without electricity.

As we try to collect information and figure out what to do, Emma is checking her Whatsapp and says: “Also in Malaga. And now Madrid”. Someone else shouts: “País Vasco también”. My mind is racing. Wow, this is huge if it’s the whole country. That’s not going to be solved in a few minutes. What could produce this? A cyber-attack? If true, that could take days before we get the power back.

I decide to call my wife. Today she was going by train to visit a site one hour away from Barcelona. I hope she’s not stuck in the train in the middle of nowhere. She answers. She is already on location, in the fields, with her client. She knows nothing about this power cut and is of course surprised by my call. She does not believe me at first. Also, a bit weird, I can call her via Signal while there is supposedly no electricity for anyone. I’m feeling relieved she’s not stuck in a train and tell her to start planning her trip back. Trains will probably not run for a while.

We talk to each other in the office, trying to collect information. One website mentions the electricity cut and talks about France and Portugal being affected too. I’m wondering if it’s a domino effect of some sort. But at this point, there is zero info. And then the Internet went down. Probably our backup UPS system that run its course. That’s the trigger. No point to stay in the office anymore, let’s all go home, at least for those who can.

At this point, I have only one thing in my mind: I have absolutely no cash with me and I’m not sure my wife has much more with her either. I’ve been going like this for two years now, maybe more. I know it’s somewhat risky. I tell myself often to have at least a little bit of cash. But only very rarely do. It’s just so easy to pay for anything by tapping a phone or a card on a terminal. Like most people, I just don’t bother carrying a few bills with me anymore. So now, that’s clearly a problem. I don’t know how long this situation will last, but my mind tells me that 3 days is a possibility. 24 hours, definitely likely.

As I get out of the office, I cross path with a colleague going in. He just arrived by bicycle. He was hoping to find Internet in the office since his was down at home. I tell him it’s no point and to prepare for a long time without electricity. I go for a shared bike station, Bicing, as they call it here. Not sure I’ll be able to get a bike off the hook if the power is out and I can’t badge the subscription card. Strangely, the station still has power. I grab one and go.

As I start pedaling, I see trams, stopped and empty, tons of people in the street, sirens in the background, big traffic jams. It’s unclear why some crossroads have working traffic lights and some don’t. Everyone seems in the street all at once. All the shop owners are sitting in front of their doors, looking at passers by. I sense confusion but people seem calm, even in their cars. I feel more stressed than this environment.

Riding home, I pass in front of a few ATMs. All with black screens. No power. I start wondering if the I’ll be able to get this bike attached again to a station. Luckily yes, the one near my home has some power and finally lock the bike in its place again. Looking back, this was not an unreasonable concern as I heard stories of people unable to borrow a bike or return it. I guess I got lucky.

Once home, checked the fridge and freezer. Seems we have enough food for 2 days, maybe more. We‘ll manage. We also have a gas-powered barbecue on the terrace, so we can cook. I definitely thought of this kind of situation when buying it. I congratulate myself. One less problem to worry about. Still no data or phone network.

I still feel I should try to get some cash. Where can I find a place that I’m pretty sure has electricity and potentially a cash machine? A hospital. There is a big one 20 min walk from where I live. I take a bag, just in case I might buy stuff on the way, and start walking.

I pass in front of a gas station, closed, of course. The employees have rolled on the street the fridges with ice-cream cones and a group of people are rushing to grab some. They go out for 1€ a piece. I take a photo and continue my journey. I pass in front of a small shop where you can buy phone cards and other small electronics. Two women leave the store giggling. They’ve just bought a small battery-powered radio and turn it on immediately. Good idea, I think. Don’t have a radio at home. Could be something I buy when I finally get cash.

I arrive at the hospital. The air around has a strong smell of burnt diesel. I’m definitely at the right spot. The hospital is quite calm. People seem to go through their activity as usual. I walk in the corridors not sure where to find or if there is any cash machine around. Through a window, I see a big queue. Looking closer, there is was, a small La Caixa cash machine. One of those you see in any kind of shop. Not like the bigger ones you find in banks. There is at least 20 to 30 people waiting in line. I go to the end of it. The person in front of me complains that it’ll probably be empty by the time we get to it. In the meantime, he tries to help me get on the hospital visitor Wifi, without success. After a half hour waiting, we get to the machine. There is still cash in it. I get out a bunch. And feel relieved. Problem two solved.

Queuing for the cash machine

There is power here and a working Internet network I don’t have access to yet. I still have 2 hours before picking up my 3 year old from school. I might as well try to get access to the net, contact some people and gather more info about the situation. After trying different things for a while, a charitable person gave me the password for the private network of the restaurant inside the hospital. I can exchange some messages with my wife. Strangely, while data and phone was completely down in Barcelona, it seems it was working outside of it. She found a car to come back to the city. We talk about buying candles, a flashlight and a radio.

I read a few news websites, Spanish and international press, no one knows what caused the issue. They mention it might take 10 hours for the power to get back. I walk home. Stopped at a bazaar close to my place where they sell tons of random stuff from paper craft to kitchen utensils to plastic buckets and repair tools. (Spanish people have a racialized name for those shops.) The shop was pitch dark. I walk in, there is a huge queue of people waiting in front of the cashier. I ask where the candle area is. Using my phone light, I try to pick the biggest candles they have that has no scent. Turns out I failed at that. They are also out of radios and flashlights. Actually, that queue is for people waiting for a potential arrival of radios. I pay for the candles and get out. It’s time to pick up my kid from school.

My kid is telling me with excitement that there was no electricity at the school. We exchange some information between parents but with no new real info. Teachers tell us not to bring our kids to school the next morning if no power is back on. With the usual bunch, we try to move to our regular park close to the school. Closed because of “no electricity”. Go figure. We fall back on another playground. Some parents are getting spotty data connection again. We compare providers. I’m still without any connection at all. In the meantime, my wife got home.

Went home. Cooked some chicken on the barbecue. Found out we actually had some battery-powered lights my mother offered us for Christmas. Completely forgot we had those. Did not need the candles at all. Read a book and went to bed early. The power came back at 1:25 in our house.

This morning, my kid turned on all the lights in the house to show us that they were all working. We compared notes with friends. Some had their power back much earlier than us, living only a few blocks away. Some later.

There seems to be one brand of supermarket that did not suffer from any of this blackout and probably made a record profit yesterday from people buying toilet paper and candles. They had diesel generators, food, long queues and working contactless digital payment systems.

I’m definitely buying a portable radio.