Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has urged private energy companies to assist his government in determining the cause of Monday’s unprecedented power outage across the Iberian peninsula, and has stated that changes and improvements are required to ensure “the supply and future competitiveness” of the country’s electrical system.
Spain and Portugal experienced a big power outage that began just after 12.30pm on Monday and continued into the night. At least five individuals are believed to have died in Spain as a result of the blackout, which confined commuters on paralyzed trains and in static lifts of apartment buildings and offices.
Although energy operators in both countries have dismissed the possibility of a cyber-attack, Sánchez’s socialist government is refusing to rule out “any hypothesis,” and Spain’s highest criminal court has launched an investigation to determine whether “an act of computer sabotage” was committed “against critical Spanish infrastructure.”
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has urged private energy operators to assist his government in determining the cause of Monday’s unprecedented power cut across the Iberian peninsula. He emphasized that changes and improvements are necessary to ensure “the supply and future competitiveness” of the country’s electrical system.
On Monday, shortly after 12:30 PM, Spain and Portugal experienced a significant power outage that extended into the night. It is believed that at least five individuals have lost their lives in Spain due to the blackout, which resulted in passengers being trapped on immobilized trains and in the stationary elevators of residential and office buildings.
Despite energy operators in both nations dismissing the idea of a cyber-attack, Sánchez’s socialist government is not eliminating “any hypothesis,” and Spain’s highest criminal court has initiated an investigation to ascertain whether “an act of computer sabotage” may have been carried out “against critical Spanish infrastructure.”
Sánchez’s political rivals assert that he has advanced plans to prioritize renewable energy over nuclear energy without considering the repercussions, and is attempting to hold private energy companies responsible for the blackout.
The conservative People’s party (PP) has charged the prime minister with implementing “an information blackout” regarding the incident and has demanded that he appear before congress to provide a comprehensive explanation of his knowledge about the situation.
“The government has taken no accountability, shown no self-reflection, and has not even offered an apology to the people,” PP sources stated on Wednesday morning.
The party highlighted that Corredor had held the position of minister in the previous socialist government.
The criticisms from the PP arise six months after the party faced backlash for its sluggish and insufficient response to the catastrophic floods that resulted in the deaths of 227 individuals in Valencia, one of the regions under its governance. Even with multiple meteorological warnings regarding the heavy rains that caused the floods, the regional government failed to issue an emergency alert to residents’ mobile phones until after 8pm on the day of the floods. During the floods, as people were drowning in their homes and cars, Valencia’s PP president, Carlos Mazón, chose to spend three hours having lunch with a journalist.
The far-right Vox party has targeted Sánchez, claiming that his expensive ideological opposition to nuclear power has resulted in Spain being left in the dark.
Sánchez has brushed aside the criticisms. “Those who connect this incident to the absence of nuclear power are either misrepresenting the facts or showing their lack of understanding,” Sánchez stated on Tuesday, further asserting that nuclear power generation “was no more resilient” than other sources of electricity.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, was not reassured by his words and took to X to respond to the prime minister. “Cease your shameless deceit,” Abascal remarked. “The blackout is a result of your ineffective energy policies.” You claimed this was impossible … Now that it has occurred, Sánchez, you must confront the legal repercussions.
Corredor also stated that it was inaccurate to associate the blackout with Spain’s growing dependence on renewable energy. “The mix of renewables is secure and can integrate into all the safety systems of the electrical operating system,” she stated to Cadena Ser. “Connecting the events of Monday to renewable energy isn’t accurate.” Renewables operate consistently and reliably.
