Spanish PM pledges blackout transparency and warns of vested interests targeting renewables

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for patience and pledged transparency in an address to Congress on Wednesday, as investigations continue into the causes of last week's blackout.

Sánchez praised society, businesses, and administrations for responding quickly and cooperatively to the power outage on April 28.

He condemned the "apocalyptic" narratives he likened to a Netflix series and the "vested interests" of the right, energy companies, and pressure groups trying to slow the push for renewables and reverse the phasing out of nuclear power.

Sánchez cleared renewables of any blame, stated that the economic impact of the outage – estimated at €415 million in lost sales – was "limited," and asked for "time" for experts to identify the exact cause of the failure.

Chain of anomalies

The PM explained that the blackout was caused by a "chain of anomalies," saying preliminary technical information suggests the loss of generation in southern Spain 19 seconds before a second and third failure at 12:33pm last Monday. The system managed to handle the first two, but not the third.

All institutions acted quickly, along with Spain's National Security Council, to initiate emergency protocols and reactivate the power grid, Sánchez said, expressing his gratitude for their "work, loyalty, and cooperation."

"Evidently, many banks, manufacturers, businesses, and supermarkets had to close," but "the good news is that hospitals, health centers, and care homes continued operating without incident thanks to their autonomous power systems, and schools remained open until children could be collected safely."

Sánchez pointed out that despite almost all traffic lights going out, there were 24% fewer incidents on the roads than the previous Monday, while air and sea transit worked relatively normally. A total of 116 trains stopped when the blackout hit, and 35,000 passengers had to be evacuated, with some helped by residents of nearby towns.

"Just five hours after the supply failure, it was restored in areas like Aragón, Catalonia, Extremadura, and Andalusia," Sánchez said, adding that by the end of the day, nearly half of the substations had power, rising to 99.5% by 6am the following day.

"Spain is an extraordinary country, and that's why I want to thank the citizens and particularly all the business owners, both men and women, who gave their best."

"Against the apocalyptic and catastrophic vision of those who never believe in Spain, Spanish society proved once again its greatness," he said.

"Limited" economic impact

Sánchez also noted that "the economic impact of the blackout was limited."

Although purchases fell by €415 million compared to a normal Monday, "in the following days, consumption rebounded strongly and was much higher than a normal Tuesday and Wednesday," meaning that in two to three days, "more than three-quarters of the drop in spending was recovered."

"Absolute transparency"

The Spanish PM also promised that the results of the ongoing "thorough" investigation would be made public with "absolute transparency." 

He reminded Congress that there are 756 million data points to be examined, so the government "will not rush to conclusions," stressing that "time" must be allowed.

"Vested interests"

"We won't work with superficial conclusions from those with vested interests, as we're seeing from some MPs and groups in the media," Sánchez said, but rather "get to the bottom of the issue." 

"It's paradoxical that the same people accusing the government of not providing explanations about the blackout have been recommending a solution for days.

A solution which, coincidentally, aligns with their ideological agenda and the interests of certain energy companies that own nuclear plants," he said.

Exonerating renewables

Sánchez urged citizens to "distrust those who say this is about renewables or nuclear power because it’s not," as "there is no empirical evidence showing that the blackout was caused by an excess of renewables."

Sánchez did state that if energy companies ask for an extension to the nuclear phase-out beyond 2027, the Spanish government "will listen."

In any case, he added, the request must meet three "common-sense" conditions: the extension must ensure the safety of citizens, not be at the expense of taxpayers but rather "the ultra-rich" who head these energy companies, and it must ensure the stability of the electricity supply.