Power outage cripples Czechia, halting transport and services; crisis team convenes

A major power outage crippled Czechia shortly after noon today: trams, trains and the metro stopped running, and some industrial plants, shops, businesses, petrol stations, traffic lights and other electricity-dependent services were out of action. Firefighters rescued people trapped in lifts, while some hospitals switched to backup power. The so-called blackout affected much of Prague, the Central Bohemian, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec and Olomouc regions, as well as eastern Czechia. It was apparently caused by a technical fault; police provisionally ruled out a terrorist or cyberattack. The situation began to ease in the afternoon. ČEPS, the transmission system operator, announced shortly before 15:00 that all transmission substations in Czechia were back in operation.

The outage affected eight of the country's 44 transmission substations. Energy companies do not yet know the exact cause of the problems. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) convened the Central Crisis Staff for 16:00 in response to the power outage.

"All transmission substations have been re-energised. Electricity supplies are now being restored at the distribution network level," ČEPS said at around 14:50.

About half an hour earlier, it had also announced that all substations in Prague were back in operation.

According to the information available so far, the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) does not believe the blackout was caused by a cyberattack. Police officers from the National Centre Against Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime (NCTEKK) also have no information so far suggesting that a cyber or terrorist attack was behind the power outage.

Health Minister Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09) said on X that patient care in hospitals had not been at risk, as backup generators had kicked in. In Prague, three major hospitals were operating on backup power: Bulovka University Hospital, the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) and Královské Vinohrady University Hospital. Electricity supplies had been restored at all three facilities by 14:00.

Firefighters responded to reports of people trapped in lifts and received a large number of reports of smoke from buildings caused by diesel generators starting up. "During the outage, we have so far dealt with more than 300 incidents, including rescues, technical assistance and other types of call-outs," firefighters said at 15:30. They said electronic fire alarm systems accounted for the large number of incidents. "In the event of a power outage, which can be one indicator of a fire starting, the signal must be checked to confirm that it is a false alarm," they added.

Rail services were also disrupted: in the afternoon, trains were still not running on the Vraňany–Ústí nad Labem–Děčín and Ústí nad Labem–Most sections. Services had already resumed on several other lines, including sections from Prague. However, trains were still experiencing major delays, reaching around an hour on the busy České Budějovice–Prague line, for example. Firefighters had to evacuate passengers from several trains.

The metro was halted on all three lines in Prague for tens of minutes, and trams were also out of service, particularly on the city's right bank. Rail links between the capital and places such as Kolín and Benešov were also suspended. Some shops and restaurants, including in central Prague, closed or accepted cash only.

The power outage forced the Orlen Unipetrol chemical plant in Litvínov, in the Most district, and Spolchemie in Ústí nad Labem to shut down. "The entire Litvínov site is currently in emergency shutdown. We have the situation under control and are waiting for electricity supplies to be restored," Orlen spokesman Pavel Kaidl said. Thick black smoke rose above the Litvínov chemical plant as production was being shut down in a controlled manner. During so-called flaring, the plant disposes of industrial gases through burners, where they must be safely combusted. The impact of the outage on the petrochemical plant and refinery is significant, Kaidl said.

The power outage also affected almost all of the Liberec region. Firefighters responded to nearly 50 incidents related to the outage, and trams were not running in Liberec. The Frýdlant Water Company urged its customers to conserve water. There were also problems with internet connections.

Central Bohemian firefighters responded to incidents at numerous locations across the region due to the widespread power outage, including in Mladá Boleslav, Kutná Hora, Poděbrady and Kolín. Transport was disrupted, and firefighters went to help people trapped in lifts.

The power outage in the Hradec Králové region lasted about half an hour. Firefighters there also responded to reports of people trapped in lifts, some shops closed and hospitals switched to backup power. Hradec Králové University Hospital had to postpone some operations. The outage was not widespread and did not affect some areas.

A major power outage affected mainly the Šumperk and Jeseník districts in the Olomouc region. Tens of thousands of customers there, including government offices and Šumperk Hospital, were without power for about half an hour. Supplies were also cut to Litovel, in the Olomouc district, and surrounding villages. Electricity began flowing again at around 13:00.

Czechia experienced major power outages in February 2017, June 2022 and June 2023. In April this year, a major outage affected the Iberian Peninsula due to overvoltage in the grid.