A widespread blackout plunged Sweden’s largest island, Gotland, into darkness, after a critical link to the mainland power grid failed, leaving nearly 60,000 residents without electricity and raising concerns about the island’s strategic vulnerability.
Residents of Gotland, an island renowned for its strategic significance in the Baltic Sea, found themselves in total darkness shortly, when the entire island became disconnected from the mainland power grid. Emergency teams from Gotlands Energi (GEAB) have been working through the night to restore electricity, activating backup and reserve systems in some areas, but vast sections still remain without power.
Eyewitnesses described the blackout as “pitch black everywhere,” with streetlights, businesses, and homes suddenly losing power. “It’s quite a different experience when all the lights go out,” said Lisbeth Åkerman, a news anchor for Sweden’s Rapport, reporting from northern Gotland. Even Visby, the island’s medieval UNESCO World Heritage city, was affected, with residents relying on flashlights and candles for illumination.
The outage impacting nearly the entire population of the island has disrupted essential services and stoked fears over critical infrastructure vulnerability in the Baltic region, an area subject to increasing security concerns and recent sabotage attempts against communication and water supply networks.
Authorities say the blackout resulted from a complete severance of the high-voltage power connection to mainland Sweden, though the cause remains under investigation.
Partial restoration efforts are underway but the timeline for full service remains unclear. Officials urge residents to conserve battery power and use generators where possible, as troubleshooting continues. Meanwhile, the incident has reignited debate among policymakers about infrastructure security and resilience on Gotland, which has long been viewed as a crucial outpost in the Baltic
