The president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured this Tuesday that the Executive will take “the necessary measures to ensure that a blackout like the one that affected Spain and Portugal since noon on Monday does not happen again,” and that it will demand “all pertinent responsibilities” from the private operators of the electrical system. He made this statement after a meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by King Felipe VI.
During his appearance, Sánchez stated that the government has two priorities. The first is to fully restore the electrical system. He explained that “there are numerous teams deployed on the ground” and that this Tuesday "the system will operate in an intervened manner, fail-safe, with synchronous generation.” If no new developments arise, “the market will return to full normal operations tomorrow.”
The second priority is to clarify what happened. According to him, "the technicians from Red Eléctrica are still conducting an analysis of their system; we expect to receive their preliminary results in the coming hours, if not days." Meanwhile, private companies are examining the telemetry from their production centers, which should allow for a better understanding of what occurred "in those five seconds that led to the system's failure."
He emphasized that "the Government of Spain will get to the bottom of this matter" and that "reforms will be made and necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again." He added that "all relevant responsibilities will be demanded from private operators."
Sánchez stated that, with all due caution, "Spain is overcoming the worst of the crisis and is moving steadily towards a full return to normalcy regarding electricity and its consequences in various sectors." He explained that during the early morning hours, the system began reactivating its production centers, and by 6:00 AM, more than 99.5% of the supply had been restored, even during the peak demand period at 8:30 AM. He affirmed that "the system has reacted swiftly," that "both public and private actors have acted effectively," and that "the coordination between public administrations has been excellent and loyal."
He also noted that hospitals, health centers, pharmacies, educational institutions, supermarkets, banks, airports, ports, and highways are operating without issues, although “there are still several areas in the country without train service.” He added that several communities have expressed their desire to return to level two of emergency and that “the emergency protocols and the electricity crisis remain declared.”
The Government has decided to release three days' worth of strategic reserves of petroleum products to ensure the operation of generators in essential services. Regarding the source of the incident, it was explained that "INCIBE is already working to rule out the hypothesis of a cyber attack, but this hypothesis remains open." It was added that a technical investigation commission will be established under the National Security Council, and an independent report will also be requested from the European Commission.
Regarding nuclear energy, Sánchez was emphatic: “Those who are linking this incident to a lack of nuclear power are either lying or showing their ignorance.” He asserted that “the demand at the time of the blackout was low” and that “the recovery of the supply has been achieved thanks to the connection with Morocco and France, as well as the combined gas cycles and hydroelectric plants,” while “nuclear power plants, far from being a solution, have been a problem.”
He urged the public to avoid rumors and to only get information from official sources. He reminded that the National Security Council will meet again this afternoon to assess the progress in the investigation.
The blackout occurred on Monday at 12:33 PM, when a sudden drop of 15 gigawatts of power –equivalent to 60% of the national supply at that time– caused a chain disconnection of the main generation sources. Millions of citizens in Spain and Portugal were affected, and emergency protocols were activated in several autonomous communities.
The situation led to an almost complete halt of rail transport, interruptions in telecommunications, and impacts on essential services. Red Eléctrica warned that recovery could take between six and ten hours. The Prime Minister addressed the public on Monday afternoon to urge calm, confirm that no hypotheses were being ruled out, and recommend that citizens limit travel and mobile phone usage. In that statement, he requested to only follow official channels of information.
On Monday afternoon, only 35% of the supply had been restored. This was already the worst blackout in recent history in Spain. The gradual recovery began to be noticeable during the night, and by Tuesday at 7:00 am, Red Eléctrica announced that 99.95% of the peninsular demand had been restored. The Ministry for Ecological Transition certified that 100% of the substations were already operational.
Meanwhile, energy sector experts explained that the failure is believed to have originated in the community of Extremadura, where numerous solar plants are concentrated, following two nearly simultaneous events of generation loss. Red Eléctrica ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack and pointed to a combination of technical factors related to the strong voltage fluctuation caused by an excess of photovoltaic generation. At the time of the collapse, more than 70% of the demand was being met with solar energy.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Blackout in Spain and the Government's Response
What was the main cause of the blackout in Spain and Portugal?
The main cause of the blackout was a sudden drop of 15 gigawatts of power, which led to a cascading disconnection of the main generation sources. Red Eléctrica ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack and pointed to technical factors related to a strong voltage fluctuation caused by an excess of photovoltaic generation.
What measures will the Government of Spain take to prevent future blackouts?
The president Pedro Sánchez stated that the Government will take "the necessary measures to ensure that a power outage like this does not happen again." This includes holding private operators accountable and implementing reforms to strengthen the electrical system.
How is the electricity supply recovering in Spain?
The electricity supply has recovered more than 99.5% since the blackout, thanks to the coordination between administrations and the intervention of public and private actors. The Government has released strategic reserves of petroleum products to ensure the operation of essential services.
What is being done to investigate the causes of the blackout?
The Government of Spain has initiated a technical research committee under the National Security Council and has requested an independent report from the European Commission to clarify the causes of the blackout. Red Eléctrica and private companies are analyzing their systems to identify the precise origin of the failure.
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