As I write these lines, the cause of Monday's massive blackout and the paralysis of the entire Iberian Peninsula is still unknown. Whatever this cause, or causes, the consequences are extremely serious, and the perception of vulnerability is enormous. A feeling that, looking back, however, is not so new. In the last fifteen years alone, we have experienced situations of various kinds that have demonstrated how vulnerable we are, despite belonging to the most developed world.
We observe the following sequence: in the period 2009-2014, a real estate and financial bubble with its epicenter in the United States led much of the world to enter a major recession, the worst since the financial crash of 1929. The consequences were brutal and brutal: people were thrown out of work. All European states had to cut their public budgets, with varying degrees depending on the health of their finances, but always with repercussions for public services and investments. In short, a dark period, difficult to manage, which passed over governments of very different political persuasions and which revealed how vulnerable we were.
The sequence continues with the COVID episode, in the period 2020-2022: in this case, an insignificant virus generated in China and rapidly spreading across the planet brought the entire world to a standstill. Millions of people lost their lives, the population was confined to their homes for many weeks, and a huge amount of public resources had to be mobilized, much of it in the form of debt to be paid, to refloat the economy and help families survive. Once again, our vulnerability was clearly reflected in the mirror.
The sequence closes these last few days, in our house, with the major blackout suffered on Monday. In this case, unlike the others, the phenomenon was more localized and less severe, both in its duration and its impact, but the feeling that everything could come to a standstill in a single minute was distressing. For many people, the paradox lies in the thought that the more sophisticated the technology that surrounds us, the more we are left hanging by a thread, beyond our control.
In situations like the one we have recently experienced, it is legitimate to ask ourselves what degree of fatality and precariousness we must live with. In a mature and adult society, the population has the right to know, and public authorities have the duty to inform, even at the risk of the explanations being unpleasant or unsympathetic. Citizens lack knowledge of matters of great technical complexity and therefore must trust those responsible for managing the most sensitive issues in everyday life. If we are vulnerable, we must know how vulnerable we are; and prepare ourselves to mitigate or minimize our vulnerability.
Monday's blackout raises questions that must be answered honestly, transparently, and reliably. For example, can we move toward rapid electrification with the system we have? What consequences will the closure of nuclear power plants have on the reliability and quality of the electricity supply? Are more high-voltage lines needed, and if so, which ones? How much do the investments needed to improve supply security cost, and how are they paid for?
Many hours have passed since the general blackout, and we are bereft of even minimally sound explanations. Being vulnerable is not the same as being incompetent. When a country comes to a standstill for many hours, with the serious impact this entails on modern life and essential services, it is absolutely essential to know what happened and what risk there is of it happening again. There is no need to look for culprits, but rather to identify those responsible, both technically and politically. And when the time comes, we must clarify who is responsible, both. When a system fails miserably, unless it is due to an uncontrollable event, it is necessary to make changes to people and systems. You cannot pretend that nothing is happening, nor look the other way, nor bury your head in the sand.
A final thought: episodes like the one we have experienced should prompt us to consider how we should deal with unexpected and unforeseen security and operational crises. A few months ago, the European Commission recommended having kits of survival. Beyond the easy jokes that can be made about these types of initiatives, or the sense of alarm they can provoke in some people, on Monday we were able to experience firsthand that these are not trivial matters. We need to face an eventuality beyond our control, but one that has a profound impact on our lives.
