Billion-dollar outage shakes Iberian economy, stirs criticism
The president of the Spanish employers' organization, CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, estimated that Monday's power outage, which affected the Iberian Peninsula, will cost the economy about 1.6 billion euros (approximately $2.3 billion CAD), which represents 0.1 percent of the gross domestic product.
Garamendi highlighted the scale of the disruption caused by the outage. He noted that refineries will need weeks to restore full functionality, and blast furnaces may have sustained significant damage. "It's a huge impact on the economy," he stated during a conversation with journalists.
Regarding potential compensations, the leader of Spanish entrepreneurs suggested that the responsibility for payouts might lie with the insurance policies managed by the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros. However, he mentioned that the details are still under analysis.
Criticism of government actions after the outage
The CEOE president criticized the Spanish government for their communication during the crisis. He believed that authorities should have reacted promptly and ensured a continuous flow of information for citizens and businesses. "The government should have operated more effectively and provided consistent updates," Garamendi remarked.
He particularly disapproved of the Ministry of Labour's statement, which indicated that employers must cover the costs of employee absences caused by the outage. The head of the employers' organization added that they don't need such directives because they clearly understand their social responsibilities, which they consistently uphold.
The massive power outage, which occurred at about 6:30 AM Eastern Time on Monday, caused serious disruptions in transportation and daily life for residents and businesses across the Iberian Peninsula, affecting both Spain and Portugal.
According to the latest data, by 2:00 AM Eastern Time the next day, nearly complete power was restored—99.95 percent of electricity demand was met in the Iberian Peninsula. Specialists are still working to determine the exact causes of this unprecedented outage that paralyzed two countries.
