Days after Spain, Portugal, and the southern French region of Perpignan were left in the dark for over half a day, there is still no official explanation of what exactly happened. What is known so far is that the grid lost 60% of its power in a matter of seconds, with most analysts pointing to the lack of stable sources of energy, such as gas and nuclear, when it occurred. Furthermore, prior to the incident, there had been warnings about grid instability, including voltage control issues and the need for better backup systems.

To bring clarity and find out the exact cause of the failure, the Spanish government has formed two investigative teams, one focused on cybersecurity and the other on the electrical system, tasked with determining the causes of the outage and how to prevent a similar incident in the future. In parallel, the European Union has launched its investigation, expected to take more than six months. Even if there is some uncertainty, two weeks after the incident, Portugal has decided to resume electricity exchanges with Spain. The decision reflects some renewed trust in the Spanish system, which follows the implementation of additional security measures designed to avoid another shutdown.

However, no major decisions have yet been made regarding the Spanish electrical grid. Although political parties have begun discussions around extending the life of nuclear facilities (which are set to begin shutting down in 2027) and have floated proposals to nationalize the system or lift certain tax burdens, no significant policy changes have been enacted or announced. Moreover, there have been no political resignations to date, nor any at Red Eléctrica, the company responsible for ensuring electrical output and grid security in Spain.

Fierce words over nuclear and sustainable energy sources

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, defended the role of renewable energy before parliament, asserting that the blackout cannot be attributed to green power. “There is no empirical evidence to suggest the incident was caused by an excess of renewable energy or a lack of nuclear energy,” he emphasized. “What a great act of cynicism it is to mourn the five lives tragically lost during the blackout while ignoring the more than 8,000 lost in Spain as a result of climate change,” Sánchez said in his opening address to the members of parliament.

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the Popular Party responded by accusing Sánchez and his government of being “fanatics” in their defence of green energy and for continuing to push for the closure of nuclear plants. He also demanded the resignation of Beatriz Corredor, the president of Red Eléctrica. Feijóo went further, accusing the government of withholding information from the public.

A conspiracy theory blames the billionaires

The lack of clear answers surrounding the blackout has fueled a wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories. In the immediate aftermath, street rumours suggested a terrorist or cyberattack. Weeks later, fringe theories now claim that Amancio Ortega (the billionaire behind Inditex, owner of Zara, Bershka, and Pull&Bear) may have used the situation to become the largest shareholder in Red Eléctrica. Others point fingers at Juan Roig, owner of supermarket chain Mercadona, which reportedly profited during the blackout thanks to backup generators in its stores.

However, Ortega’s Inditex is not the largest shareholder of Red Eléctrica, as 20% of the company remains publicly owned. Nonetheless, following BlackRock’s partial divestment after the blackout, Inditex has become the largest private stakeholder, now holding a 5% stake.