Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez appeared this Wednesday, May 7th, before the Congress of Deputies to explain the April 28th power outage, which left all of Spain without electricity for 12 hours and also affected Portugal and other countries.
However, far from offering clear answers, the leader opted for a self-congratulatory speech, full of self-praise and empty of substance, which has generated more indignation than reassurance among citizens and the opposition.
Ten days after the incident, the causes of the power cut remain unclear. Red Eléctrica has ruled out the cyberattack hypothesis for days, a conclusion supported by the CNI, INCIBE, and European institutions, but Sánchez’s government keeps working groups open to investigate both technical errors and possible digital threats.
Meanwhile, the affected companies and harmed households are still waiting for an official report, which could take three to six months. This could complicate any claims for damages, estimated at over 4.5 billion euros. The left is clearly a master of political timing.
The blackout has not only raised alarms about the vulnerability of Spain’s electricity system but also reopened an uncomfortable debate for the government: Is the current energy model sustainable? The Partido Popular (PP) and VOX have harshly criticized the government’s stubbornness in refusing to reconsider the planned nuclear shutdown scheduled for 2027–2030. For the center and the right, depending on interconnections with France and Morocco, as happened during the crisis, is a sign of strategic weakness that endangers Spain’s energy sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Sánchez boasts about the country’s leadership in renewable energies, ignoring the fact that, in critical moments, the combined cycle (gas) plants took on nearly half of the electricity generation needed to restore supply.
In his speech in the Spanish parliament Sánchez solemnly proclaimed that “Spain will not deviate even a millimeter from its green model.” Not even his own Socialist bench seemed convinced: the applause was scarce, and the opposition wasted no time in reacting.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, reminded the PM that “the fourth-largest economy in the euro zone will not tolerate what happened without resignations” and called for direct accountability in the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Red Eléctrica. Santiago Abascal, leader of VOX, was even more forceful: he demanded Sánchez’s resignation—sarcastically renaming him “Pedro Chávez”—and accused the government of ignoring warnings about the risk of a blackout.
Far from assuming responsibility or considering a shift in energy policy, Sánchez squandered a crucial opportunity to regain the citizens’ trust. He preferred to lock himself into an ideological narrative, refusing to acknowledge that a balanced energy mix, with renewables, yes, but also with nuclear and gas, is indispensable for a modern country that cannot afford to depend solely on the sun and wind.