PRAGUE – A significant power outage on Friday, July 4, 2025, paralyzed large sections of the Czech Republic, including its capital Prague, disrupting public transport, trapping individuals, and idling major industrial facilities. The widespread disruption, which commenced around 12:00 PM local time (1000 GMT), stemmed from the failure of a high-voltage power cable, triggering a cascade of issues across the national electricity grid. While power was largely restored by 1600 GMT, the incident has amplified concerns regarding the robustness of European energy infrastructure, following similar blackouts in Spain and the UK earlier this year.

The Industry and Trade Ministry swiftly confirmed the cause, stating, "The cause was the fall of a power cable, not a cyberattack nor a failure of renewable resources." This clarification aimed to address immediate speculation, emphasizing an infrastructure-related origin. The outage brought international and local train services to a halt, along with Prague's underground metro and tram networks for several hours. Approximately 1,000 mobile phone network stations also relied on backup systems.

National transmission system operator CEPS declared a nationwide state of emergency after the V411 transmission grid line and Unit 6 of the Ledvice power plant, a 660-megawatt coal-fired facility operated by CEZ, failed. The initial cable failure overburdened another line and substation, forcing parts of the grid to operate in isolation from the broader European network. The affected high-voltage line, located in the northwest and serving an area with lignite power plants, is part of a modernization plan slated for a capacity doubling by 2028.

While all affected substations regained power before 1300 GMT, distribution companies continued working for several hours to fully restore supplies to customers. Prime Minister Petr Fiala reported that approximately 2,000 customers remained without power shortly before 1600 GMT, down from an estimated half a million affected earlier. The outage led to 215 incidents of people trapped in elevators, according to fire brigade spokesperson Lucie Pipis, with all individuals successfully rescued. Thirteen prisons also experienced power loss, though security remained uncompromised, and three major Prague hospitals temporarily operated on backup power. Orlen Unipetrol's refinery and chemical plant at Litvinov underwent an emergency shutdown, with restart operations expected to take several days.

This event, alongside recent disruptions in Spain and at London's Heathrow Airport, underscores a critical challenge for Europe's energy sector. Analysts have consistently highlighted the need for substantial investment—trillions of dollars—to upgrade aging power grids and expand energy storage capacity. Such investments are deemed essential to manage the increasing integration of intermittent renewable energy sources and to meet rising electricity demand, ensuring grid stability and resilience in the face of both technical failures and evolving energy landscapes.