Key Metrics
21.02
Heat Index-
Impact LevelMedium
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Scope LevelGlobal
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Last Update2025-08-12
Key Impacts
Positive Impacts (7)
Negative Impacts (3)
Event Overview
Recent power outages in California and the Iberian Peninsula have exposed technical and planning flaws in power grid management. In California, multiple outages occurred between June 15 and June 18, 2025, affecting thousands of PG&E customers in Placer County, Watsonville, and Bakersfield. Separately, a massive blackout on April 28, 2025, left Spain and Portugal without power for over 10 hours due to a voltage surge caused by insufficient voltage control capacity. These incidents disrupted daily life, businesses, and public transport, highlighting infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Collect Records
Massive Power Outages Across California and Iberian Peninsula Due to Technical Failures
Recent power outages have disrupted thousands of residents in California and caused a significant blackout across Spain and Portugal, revealing underlying technical and planning issues in power grid management.
In California, multiple outages were reported. On June 15, 2025, approximately 8,500 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) customers in Placer County lost power at 7:13 a.m. The affected areas included Foresthill (2,700 customers), Colfax (2,678 customers), Alta (806 customers), and south of Grass Valley (1,499 customers). The outage was resolved by 2 p.m., but the cause remains under investigation.
Another outage occurred on June 18, 2025, in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, impacting over 11,200 PG&E customers. The outage began at 9:23 a.m., and power was expected to be restored by 1:45 p.m. PG&E attributed the outage to an unplanned electrical system failure, requiring repairs to damaged sections. The city of Watsonville advised motorists to treat non-functioning traffic signals as all-way stops.
Additionally, on June 18, a separate outage left 3,709 customers in south Bakersfield without power at 10:58 p.m., according to PG&E's outage website.
Meanwhile, a massive blackout on April 28, 2025, paralyzed Spain and Portugal for over 10 hours. Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen attributed the outage to a 'voltage surge' in southern Spain, which triggered a chain reaction of protective shutdowns. The surge was caused by insufficient voltage control capacity, partly due to a programming error. Spain lost 15 gigawatts (60% of its supply), and Portugal, connected to Spain's grid, also experienced a blackout. The outage disrupted businesses, public transport, and communication networks. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reaffirmed Spain's commitment to renewable energy, despite criticism linking the outage to high renewable energy reliance.
These incidents highlight vulnerabilities in power grid infrastructure and the need for improved planning and technical safeguards.