In Spain it is buzzing after the power outage of the worries and rumors

At first glance, nothing in the Spanish streets suggests that the entire country was paralyzed on Monday due to power outages. Shops are open again, restaurants are preparing for lunch and traffic chaos is no longer the case.

But anyone who listens to the conversations on the street hears worries and fear. Are we well prepared for an incident like Monday? « No, I literally had nothing in the house. No eye food, extra power banks or cash, » says 24-year-old student Guillermo. On Tuesday morning he immediately went to the Chino (Chinese Action) in the area to buy a power bank and a satellite radio. « Yesterday it turned out how useful those radios were. It was the only way to get information about the situation. » But the shelves in the neighborhood store are empty. There is no candle, gas lighter or flashlight to be seen. « Yesterday we sold everything within an hour after the power failure, » says shop owner Tao. « I quickly purchased charcoal for the supermarket closed and resold. Doing smart business, » he laughs.

Vulnerable

Due to the power failure, it quickly became visible that not everyone has an emergency plan ready. Especially young people such as Guillermo who are used to paying everything with Apple Pay and eating a lot outside the door, realizing how vulnerable they are. « Fortunately, this disaster lasted only a day, but when it was said earlier in the day that it would take up to a week, I got a fever. How the hell should I survive this for a week? »

The 83-year-old Fabián intervenes in the conversation. “This is why we Viejos (Oudjes) still have contact money among our mattress, « he strictly tells Guillermo. » Your young people are used to all this luxury and are stuck to a screen all day. I am always prepared for emergency situations through the war that we have experienced here and the pandemic that you have experienced also young man, « he continues. « The world can collapse within a few seconds. Take your lesson out of it, » he says with his finger pointing to Guillermo. The Dominican Jailin Conceptción laughs. « Your Europeans are not used to anything. A power outage is part of daily life in Latin America. We sometimes have no electricity there for days. »

Generators

« In five seconds we lost 60 percent of our energy, » says Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez during a press conference Tuesday afternoon. « This should never happen again. » The Spanish government has therefore asked Brussels for an independent investigation and will call private operators to account. Network manager Red Eléctrica excludes a cyber attack and mentions a decrease in solar energy generation as a provisional cause for the power failure.

The Red Cross insists again how important it is to have an emergency package at home. Throughout the country, the organization has provided help to thousands of Spaniards by, for example, supplying current generators to three health centers and four retirement homes in Zamora, León and Segovia. The charging stations for electrical appliances has also installed in Burgos, among others. « People must now have an emergency supply in the house more than ever, » says a spokesperson.

Smell

Due to the power failure, many supermarkets, butchers and coffee shops are forced to throw away their stock. « I had just received a stock of milk on Monday morning for the coming days, but I could all throw it away again at the end of the afternoon, » says Barista Gloria. Butcher Hernan had to throw away a lot of the meat in the counter. « The generator in the freezer broke up halfway through the day, » he explains. « I now look at what is still good for sale and what I have to throw away. I don’t want to run the risk of making customers sick with spoiled meat. » His store smells strongly bleach after a morning brushing.

Also make an inventory of supermarkets. Many products in the cooling are discounted in the Mercadona. « Consuming today, » it says. How great the economic damage is is still being investigated. For the time being, economists are making a rough estimate of a maximum of 4.5 billion euros. « This certainly cost me a few thousand euros. I am curious if I can claim the insurance, » says Hernan while he throws Pakjes Ham in a garbage bag. The meat industry organizations Anice and Fecic estimate the direct losses at 190 million euros net.

In the capital Madrid it has been smelling for a week for Rot Waste. The garbage service has ceased since last week, so the garbage bags hope. Due to the rotting products in the stores, that smell will only become more intense.

Fake news

While life is recording in Spain, distrust in the government grows. During the power failure, the Spaniards speculated about the possible causes. « They withheld information, » they whispered after the government’s first press conference on Monday evening. That rumor mill was further cranked by the right -wing parties that accused the government of not being transparent.

The radical right -wing party VOX even accuses the government to conceal the true cause of the national power outages. According to parliamentary spokesperson Pepa Millán, both the government and network manager Red Eléctrica « know exactly what happened, » but refuse to share that information because « the government is responsible. »

VOX links the incident to the criminal investigation into Prime Minister Sánchez’s brother who was charged on Monday for abuse of power. The power failure would therefore be ‘favorable’ for the government. Opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo (Partido Popular) demands that there will be an investigation into the role of Sánchez. Sánchez warns the Spaniards for disinformation on Tuesday afternoon during the press conference. « Let’s not pay attention to the fake news messages that go around. » The prime minister has said that he will set a committee of inquiry, led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

« I learned my lesson, » concludes Guillermo. « I will immediately pin money and hide somewhere at home, in case that. »

To share

Mail the editors