Czech Republic suffers massive blackout after power cable collapse

A widespread power outage hit large parts of the Czech Republic on 5 July, trapping people in lifts and public transport and halting factory operations after a high-voltage cable collapsed.

Large areas of the Czech Republic, including Prague, experienced a massive power outage on Friday, 5 July, when a fallen high-voltage cable disrupted the national grid. The Industry and Trade Ministry confirmed the blackout was caused by the collapse of a power cable, ruling out a cyberattack or issues with renewable resources.

The outage began around 12 pm local time and was nearly fully resolved by 8 pm, affecting international and local train services and halting public transport in several cities. In Prague, the underground system was briefly shut down, while trams stopped for hours. About 1,000 mobile phone network stations switched to back-up power.

CEPS, the national transmission system operator, declared a nationwide state of emergency after the failure of the V411 transmission grid line and Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant. The incident overburdened another line and substation, forcing part of the grid to operate as an isolated island disconnected from the wider European network.

Eight substations were affected, causing blackouts in five of the country’s fourteen regions. The fallen line, which serves an area with lignite power plants, is included in a modernisation plan and is due to be doubled in capacity by 2028.

By 3 pm, CEPS reported all affected substations were reconnected, though distribution companies continued restoring customer supplies for several hours. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said around half a million customers had been affected, with about 2,000 still without power just before 8 pm.

The blackout caused 215 incidents of people trapped in elevators, with all rescued safely, according to fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis. Thirteen prisons lost power but maintained security, while three large hospitals in Prague relied on back-up systems.

Orlen Unipetrol’s refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov went into emergency shutdown and began restarting operations once power was restored, warning the process could take several days.

The Ledvice 6 plant, a 660-megawatt coal-fired unit built in 2017, was also impacted. CEZ, which operates the plant, declined to comment.

The incident follows Europe’s worst blackout in Spain in April and a major outage at London’s Heathrow airport in March, raising concerns about the resilience of Europe’s ageing power infrastructure amid rising energy demand and green energy transitions.

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