Jul 7, 2025
Czech Republic experiences significant power outage caused by a downed cable.
A widespread power outage in the Czech Republic, including Prague, occurred on Friday due to a fallen high-voltage cable, trapping individuals in public transport and elevators while halting factory operations. This incident raises concerns about the resilience of Europe's power infrastructure, especially after Spain's major blackout in April and a fire that affected Heathrow Airport in March.
The Industry and Trade Ministry reported that the outage began around noon local time and was caused by a cable fall, ruling out causes like a cyberattack or renewable energy failure. The situation was mostly resolved by 4 PM GMT.
The outage disrupted international and local train services and public transport in several cities, including a temporary shutdown of the Prague metro and halted trams for hours. Around 1,000 mobile network stations were also impacted, relying on backup systems.
CEPS, the national transmission system operator, declared a nationwide emergency due to failures in the V411 transmission grid line and the Ledvice power plant's Unit 6. The cause of the cable's fall remains unknown, but it overloaded another line and substation, isolating parts of the grid from the European network.
Dozens of substations throughout the Czech Republic convert electricity for local distribution. CEPS reported that the fallen line along the 29-mile high-voltage route affected eight substations and caused blackouts in five of the country's 14 regions. This line, which serves lignite power plants, is included in a modernization plan to double its capacity by 2028.
By 1 PM GMT, all affected substations had regained power, though distribution companies worked for several hours to restore services to customers. Prime Minister Petr Fiala noted that about 2,000 customers were still without power by 4 PM GMT, with earlier disruptions affecting around half a million people.
The outage led to 215 incidents of individuals being trapped in elevators, all of whom were rescued. Thirteen prisons experienced power loss, but security remained intact, while three major Prague hospitals temporarily operated on backup power.
Orlen Unipetrol's refinery and chemical plant in Litvinov went into emergency shutdown, but after power was restored, it began the process of restarting operations, which would take several days.
The Industry and Trade Ministry reported that the outage began around noon local time and was caused by a cable fall, ruling out causes like a cyberattack or renewable energy failure. The situation was mostly resolved by 4 PM GMT.
The outage disrupted international and local train services and public transport in several cities, including a temporary shutdown of the Prague metro and halted trams for hours. Around 1,000 mobile network stations were also impacted, relying on backup systems.
CEPS, the national transmission system operator, declared a nationwide emergency due to failures in the V411 transmission grid line and the Ledvice power plant's Unit 6. The cause of the cable's fall remains unknown, but it overloaded another line and substation, isolating parts of the grid from the European network.
Dozens of substations throughout the Czech Republic convert electricity for local distribution. CEPS reported that the fallen line along the 29-mile high-voltage route affected eight substations and caused blackouts in five of the country's 14 regions. This line, which serves lignite power plants, is included in a modernization plan to double its capacity by 2028.
By 1 PM GMT, all affected substations had regained power, though distribution companies worked for several hours to restore services to customers. Prime Minister Petr Fiala noted that about 2,000 customers were still without power by 4 PM GMT, with earlier disruptions affecting around half a million people.
The outage led to 215 incidents of individuals being trapped in elevators, all of whom were rescued. Thirteen prisons experienced power loss, but security remained intact, while three major Prague hospitals temporarily operated on backup power.
Orlen Unipetrol's refinery and chemical plant in Litvinov went into emergency shutdown, but after power was restored, it began the process of restarting operations, which would take several days.