Tom Ewart Smith
SPAIN’S worst-ever blackout, which left millions without power across the Iberian Peninsula, could cost the country as much as €4.5 billion in lost economic output.
The unprecedented outage on April 28, which began shortly after noon and continued through the afternoon and evening, brought transport, communications, industry and retail to a standstill.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the grid lost 15 gigawatts of generation capacity – approximately 60% of the country’s demand at the time.
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While electricity was gradually restored, economic activity was severely interrupted.
The most severe estimates suggest a potential hit of €4.5 billion – the daily equivalent of Spain’s GDP – but experts say the real figure likely lies between €1 billion and €2.25 billion.
That still represents up to 0.15% of Spain’s annual economic output.
“The economic impact ranges between €1 billion and €4.5 billion, depending on how long and severely each sector was affected,” said Francisco Rodriguez, Professor of Economics at the University of Granada, who spoke with RTVE.es.
Key sectors such as services, industry and transport bore the brunt.
Thousands of businesses – including small shops, restaurants, and even large retailers – were forced to close, with small and medium-sized enterprises hit the hardest.
Self-employed workers alone have reported €1.3 billion in losses, according to ATA – Spain’s Association of Self-Employed Workers.
The UPTA (Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers) has estimated an average loss of €650 for each self-employed person.
Despite the severe disruption, economists do not currently expect the government to revise its macroeconomic forecasts.
“In general, the estimation is that it could affect between 0.1% and 0.3% of GDP and, presumably, it won’t be necessary to revise macroeconomic forecasts,” concludes Pedro Aznar, professor at Esade.
