Sánchez will demand accountability from the power companies for the blackout: "It can't happen again."

MadridTwenty-four hours after the blackout and with the electricity supply fully restored, the causes remain unknown. Pedro Sánchez is not ruling out any hypothesis, as he stated in a press conference this afternoon following the meeting of the National Security Council chaired by the King, but he has already sent warnings to electricity companies, including Red Eléctrica, if they are proven to be partly to blame. "We will see this matter through to the end. The necessary reforms will be made to ensure this does not happen again, and we will demand all relevant accountability from private operators if they must be resolved," he stressed. The Spanish government has created a commission led by the Ministry of Energy Transition to analyze the massive power outage, and there will also be a report from the European Commission.

"What happened yesterday can never happen again," Sánchez made clear, still unable to provide conclusive answers to the public. "We are also asking ourselves the same questions," noted the head of the State's executive, who already announced that this crisis will serve to "strengthen the electrical system" for the future. The Spanish president has not anticipated any concrete measures either, but in these first hours of uncertainty he has made two statements aimed at placing responsibility outside the Spanish government and undermining the opposition's arguments: on the one hand, the insinuation that private operators may have failed. To learn firsthand how they acted, Sánchez met at the Moncloa Palace this afternoon with the president of Red Eléctrica, Beatriz Corredor, and representatives from Iberdrola, Endesa, EDP, Acciona Energía, and Naturgy.

On the other hand, the socialist leader does not exactly encourage those who defend keeping nuclear power alive. For example, the PP. "Anyone who links the incident to the lack of nuclear power is lying or showing ignorance. The recovery of supply has occurred through interconnections with Morocco, France, combined cycle gas, and hydroelectric plants," he emphasized. "Nuclear energy was disconnected, as were the rest of the technologies. Nuclear generation was no more resilient than other sources of generation. The process of replacing the nuclear power plants that failed has not yet been reincorporated, and is scheduled to begin today. With greater nuclear dependence, the recovery would have been slower," the Spanish president added. However, Junts has already asked the Spanish government to reconsider the closure program for these plants, planned for between 2027 and 2035.

The PP is already pointing the finger at Sánchez.

The National Security Council met again this afternoon (at 2:00 PM) and this evening (at 7:00 PM). The Spanish president denied having given explanations late, as criticized by the People's Party (PP). He also denounced the Spanish executive's delays and, early this morning, denounced that "it is still overbooked twenty hours later."

"How is it possible to dissect the national emergency?" Feijóo questioned, arguing that it is difficult to imagine a situation that would have justified it more than the one experienced yesterday, Monday. There was a "news blackout" by the Spanish government. The PP leader commented that on Monday at around 9:00 PM, he had a video call with his family. men with government responsibilities and who informed him that they had no means of coordination with Sánchez's executive. Sources from the Ministry of the Interior maintain that they maintained "permanent contact" with the regions throughout the day.

Murcia, Madrid, Extremadura, Andalusia, La Rioja, and Castilla y León (which eventually reversed the request), all belonging to the PP (People's Party), requested a declaration of national emergency throughout the afternoon. Around 9 p.m., before Fernando Grande-Marlaska signed the authorization for the requests, the National Emergency Monitoring and Coordination Center (CENEM) contacted the rest to ask if they wanted any more. Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha (governed by the PSOE), and the Valencian Community joined in. Less than a day later, all except Madrid and Extremadura have already taken the reverse step and requested to regain control, something that the Interior Ministry has accepted. Isabel Díaz Ayuso has denounced the Spanish government's "slow and ineffective" actions and presented a "lamentable" image of Spain. The Madrid president was one of the first to call for a declaration of a national emergency.

On the other hand, Feijóo also criticized the fact that the Spanish president did not call him on Monday, while the leader of the Spanish opposition did speak with the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro. Sánchez justified his decision not to speak with Feijóo because the PP leader had "communication difficulties" in Valencia, but assured that the Spanish government had contacted all the autonomous communities. Finally, the call between Sánchez and Feijóo took place on Tuesday afternoon.