Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro Sharp variations in the Spanish power grid could cause new blackouts. The European Union recommends an emergency kit to face 72 hours without electricity
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The blackout alarm is back in Spain. Six months after the power outage that last April left over 50 million people in the dark, Red Eléctrica – the electricity grid operator – is reporting new worrying anomalies: sharp voltage fluctuations, recorded in recent weeks, could lead to new large-scale outages.
According to the operator, these fluctuations are mainly linked to the growing presence of renewable energy and the difficulty of managing their variability in real time. Although the situation is currently under control, it takes very little to upset the balance, and Spain seriously risks finding itself without electricity again at any moment.
Meanwhile, the European Union is urging citizens to equip themselves at home with a simple but essential 72-hour survival kit, useful in case of prolonged blackout.
Spanish power grid at risk
The official communication came directly to the CNMC – the body that oversees the Spanish electricity market. Red Eléctrica reports sudden oscillations in the voltage of the peninsular grid, particularly due to plants powered by renewable sources that vary their production instantaneously. The problem? Many of these plants cannot be monitored in real time, so power variations can catch the system by surprise.
Although the detected values are technically acceptable, the potential impact is serious: they could generate sudden interruptions in energy production and demand, triggering a domino effect that’s difficult to control.
The previous blackout, which occurred on April 28 at 12:30 PM, showed how fragile the system is: within minutes, trains, elevators, phone lines and radio broadcasts stopped, creating widespread chaos. A crisis that also had effects in southern France.
Now, to prevent all this from happening again, Red Eléctrica is proposing urgent operational changes, to be approved quickly and with temporary validity of 30 days (extendable by another 15). Meanwhile, the CNMC has opened a public consultation with industry operators, active until October 15.
72-hour survival kit
In the meantime, the European Union has updated its recommendations for preparing for possible prolonged blackouts. The principle is simple: no one should be left without what they need to live independently for at least three days, while waiting for the grid to be restored.
You don’t need advanced technology or huge expenses: just a few practical items, chosen wisely. Here’s what the recommended survival kit includes:
- Drinking water: at least 1.3 gallons (5 liters) per person, preferably in sealed bottles.
- Long-lasting foods: canned goods, cookies, dried fruit, tuna, crackers and other foods that don’t require cooking or refrigeration.
- Battery-powered radio: essential for receiving news in case of no network or connection.
- Flashlight and candles: better to have spare batteries or dynamo flashlights.
- Power bank or portable chargers: to charge your smartphone without an electrical outlet.
- Cash: in a prolonged blackout, ATMs might not work.
- Warm clothes, blankets or sleeping bag: if the outage occurs in winter, cold can become a serious problem.
- First aid kit: with disinfectants, bandages, gauze, painkillers and what’s needed for a minor emergency.
- Essential medications: those taken regularly, in sufficient quantity for at least 3 days.
This kit can be easily prepared at home, perhaps kept in a ready-to-use backpack, with everything necessary. It’s not alarmism, but concrete prudence: as demonstrated in April, blackouts can arrive suddenly.
How prepared are we to handle a blackout?
The expansion of renewable energy is great news for the climate, but poses new technical challenges: many solar and wind plants feed energy into the grid in a variable and not always predictable way. According to Red Eléctrica, many of these infrastructures are invisible to the grid operator and can change their power output within seconds.
Complicating matters further is the growing use of self-consumption plants, difficult to monitor and even more unstable in case of failures or demand peaks. The Ministry for Ecological Transition has requested immediate intervention to protect grid security. But meanwhile, the question many are asking remains the same: can it happen again? And the answer, for now, is yes: the risk exists.
Acting today, with awareness, can make a difference. A 72-hour kit might seem trivial, but in certain situations it becomes an essential tool.
Source: CNMC
