TarragonaCatalan industry was just getting back on track this Tuesday, following the unprecedented power outage on Monday, when a large portion of industries, especially those in the electro-intensive sector, saw their production ground to a halt.
Seat sources explained that the Martorell plant was without power until 1:00 a.m., and that this Tuesday morning the first shift returned to work as normal and the factory began to restart, with the aim of reaching 100% operation during the day.
The other Catalan automotive company, Ebro Factory—located at the former Nissan plant in the Zona Franca—also resumed production with the first shift this morning, at 12:00 p.m. Company sources: Once the power supply was restored, the technical teams reactivated the systems and production of the Ebro S700 and S800 models has resumed, at the usual rate of 60 cars per day. The power supply was interrupted by the number of companies without power, as well as by the number of hours the outage lasted. The power came back on during the early hours of the morning, and companies have begun resuming activity to recover production. Repsol. Some people were scared, and images of the smoke circulated among neighbors and acquaintances' chats, but many other citizens are already familiar with the safety protocol: when an accident or unplanned stoppage occurs, production is immediately halted, and the products being processed are burned from safety torches. The smoke, which is disturbing to the population, also worries the chemical companies themselves, as it represents a very significant economic loss. of incidents." The AEQT warns that while factories recover production, "isolated episodes of flares may still occur, which will conclude as the start-up of the different facilities is completed."
Repsol sources have indicated that a start-up blow, starting with basic services and supplies. Once services are restored, the different production units will be started up in stages. Ercros had to stop production, and between this Tuesday and Wednesday the company's ten factories will be started up. Mercabarna, for their part, have explained to ARA that the blackout has had a minor impact on the main wholesale market. Thus, on Monday there was a fruit and vegetable market, but when the power went out, 85% of the market had already been sold. The fruit and vegetable market was operating normally, although with some delay because some trucks arrived later than scheduled. to do, which may have meant a 10% drop in expected sales.
The massive blackout was also particularly difficult for some supermarket and grocery chains, as those without power generators lost stock due to disruptions in their cold storage and frozen food chains. Roger Gaspa, president of the Council of Food Distribution Companies of Catalonia (CEDAC), assured ARA that they have not quantified the stock losses because "it is still too early," and that for now the priority is "returning to normal."
Today, Gaspa says, "practically 100% of supermarkets have been able to open in Catalonia," and throughout the morning, logistics chains have been recovering, "because many were unable to place orders yesterday, so consumers may have found empty shelves" in the early hours. According to Gaspa, the forecast is that we will be back to near-normal as of this afternoon. Gaspa also emphasized that "at no time has the supply to the public been put at risk." Regarding hoarding, "the feeling is that citizens behaved extraordinarily well yesterday," he stated.
Pimec Comerç, its members throughout the country, assure that the power is back on, but some establishments suffered "outages of more than ten hours, which have led to product waste." They also point out that "insurance coverage" is of particular concern. Likewise, some areas experienced water outages due to the failure of pumping systems.
The SME association warns that "many businesses still do not have a stable connection for the POS terminal" and that "automatic shutters and doors are preventing opening in some cases." Furthermore, "retailers complain of delays in institutional information and are asking for aid for the damage" suffered yesterday.
Losses of almost 900 million euros in Catalonia
In light of the power outage that paralyzed the entire Iberian Peninsula on Monday, the employers' association Pimec has activated its crisis response to assess its impact, estimating that "the blackout may have generated losses of approximately €866 million in Catalonia, an amount equivalent to roughly one full day of Catalan GDP."
For their part, the Catalan employers' association Foment del Treball and the Spanish CEOE believe that the power outage marks a "before and after" in the debate over nuclear power plants in Spain, now that their decommissioning is scheduled to begin. CEOE President Antonio Garamendi also anticipated an estimate of the economic impact: "It will represent 0.1% of GDP, approximately €1.6 billion" across the country, he asserted.
