Major power outage hits EU country

Public transport was disrupted after a blackout across large parts of the Czech Republic, including Prague

Large parts of the Czech Republic, including the capital Prague, were hit by a significant power outage on Friday. Officials attributed the incident to a technical failure rather than a cyberattack.

The blackout began around noon local time, causing the entire Prague metro system to shut down temporarily. The city’s transport authority reported that services on the A and C lines had resumed within 15 minutes, while the B line was operational again after around 30 minutes.

Tram services on the right bank of the Vltava River were also halted, while those on the left bank continued to operate. Additionally, some train services near Prague and in other regions experienced disruptions.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala acknowledged the outage in a post on social media platform X, stating it had affected other parts of the country and that authorities were addressing the issue. The national power grid operator, CEPS, reported problems in the northern and eastern regions of the Czech Republic.

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Interior Minister Vit Rakusan reportedly confirmed that there were no indications of a cyber or terrorist attack, suggesting a technical fault as the likely cause.

CEPS reported that eight substations were affected by the outage, with five having resumed operations by the time of its statement. The company is continuing to investigate the cause of the blackout.

The outage also led to reports of individuals trapped in elevators in parts of Prague and central Bohemia. Emergency services responded to multiple calls for assistance.

Vaclav Havel Airport Prague, the city’s international airport, was not affected by the outage.

The Czech blackout follows a larger power failure that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness for several hours earlier this year. That outage was blamed on a “voltage surge,” although initial concerns pointed to a possible cyberattack.

Friday’s disruption also came on the heels of a European heat wave, which had increased demand for cooling systems. However, temperatures in Prague had eased to around 25C (77F) on Friday, down from 34C the day before.