King Felipe VI Heads Emergency National Security Meeting Following Nationwide Power Outage in Spain

King Felipe VI of Spain held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday, in response to a nationwide power outage across Spain. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez attended.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the meeting held at the Royal Moncloa Palace and will be chaired by the King to discuss a response to the power outage.

Sources indicated that Sánchez had already chaired a meeting the previous night at Red Eléctrica (Spain's electricity grid operator) with its president, Beatriz Corredor. Also in attendance were First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance María Jesús Montero; Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera; and Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Óscar López.

In the same context, the newspaper reported that the economic losses due to the blackout are estimated at around €44.211 billion. Given that Spain’s annual GDP stands at €1.6 trillion, the losses from one day of halted economic activity are equivalent to that amount.

The halt in economic activity due to the power outage has disrupted all types of industrial and production operations. Industries came to a standstill, and sectors such as retail and hospitality had to shorten or modify their working hours, significantly affecting their sales.

Furthermore, thousands of businesses across the Iberian Peninsula were forced to suspend workdays due to the lack of electricity.