A widespread power outage brought large parts of Prague to a standstill on Friday morning, leaving residents without electricity, halting metro service.

Prague Energy (PRE) confirmed the outage was caused by a failure at the ČEPS substation in Chodov.

Firefighters responded to a high number of people trapped in elevators, particularly in residential buildings. Energy analysts reported a sudden 30% drop in grid load.

According to Miroslav Řezáč, spokesperson for the Prague Fire Department, emergency units were dispatched to Chodov, Horní Měcholupy, Střížkov, Žižkov, and Vysočany. Blackouts were also reported in Letňany and several nearby areas.

The city’s public transport system was severely disrupted. Metro lines A, B, and C were all out of service for several hours. Multiple tram lines and trolleybuses were also affected, causing widespread delays and forcing commuters to seek alternative transport.

Residents also reported problems with non-functioning ATMs and other digital services reliant on the electricity grid.

The outage is one of the most serious to hit the Czech electricity grid in recent memory.

“We are currently investigating the extent of the outage and the complications it has caused,” Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan posted on X.

Live updates:

• Traffic lights at key intersections — including I. P. Pavlova, Kbelská Street, and near the Dancing House — have already been restored. However, after power is restored, some lights switch to failure mode, requiring technician intervention. Crews are gradually inspecting and repairing each one to ensure full functionality.

• “After agreement with the prime minister, I activated the Central Crisis Staff. At this moment, we are waiting for updated information from ČEPS,” said the Minister of Interior. He stressed that people should still avoid elevators. “We are not over the problem yet. People should be patient,” he added.

• Mobile operators note that the power outage may impact some customers. Key infrastructure is currently being supported by backup power sources.

• Firefighters evacuated three trains on the Prague – Kolín section. There are problems with power supply on the Most – Prague section. Supplies have been restored in Kolín.

• All metro lines are in operation, but tram lines on the right bank of the Vltava are closed, except for the functional Národní třída – Dvorce line.

• Mobile and internet banking were not affected by the power outage. Some ATMs are not working,

• Tram services in Liberec stopped, and ČEPS reported a loss of voltage across parts of the national grid.

• Police officers from the National Center for Combating Terrorism, Extremism, and Cybercrime (NCTEKK) currently have no evidence that today’s extensive power outage in the Czech Republic was caused by a cyber or terrorist attack.

• Liberec, Mladá Boleslav, Most and Litvínov, Ústí nad Labem and partly also Hradec Králové remain without electricity supply. Transport companies in the affected cities are reacting according to crisis plans

• Railway Administration Firefighters: Electricity supply is gradually being restored.

• DPP: On the left bank of the Vltava, all sections of tram lines are in operation, on the right bank of the Vltava, only the section Národní třída – Lazarská – Karlovo náměstí – Dvorce is in operation.

• DPP: From 12:35 pm, metro line B operation has been restored. Line A passes through the Želivského station.