People wait outside a closed metro station during a blackout in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2025. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Updated:
Commentary
Three weeks ago, all of Spain was startled by a complete electricity blackout without warning. Air traffic control could not contact airplanes, trains stalled in stations or stopped on their tracks mid-journey, telecommunications were knocked out, and a national emergency was declared. These blackouts spread into southern France and Portugal, conveying the regrettable and apparently unsuspected message that if one nation mismanages its grid, it takes its neighbours down with it.
