Spain: The Telegraph points to the government as responsible for the electricity blackout

The Spanish government has yet to give a concrete explanation for the blackout that paralyzed the Iberian peninsula and southern France in April.

At the end of that month, there was a complete interruption of the electricity supply originating in Spain and affecting Portugal and parts of France.

Almost a month later, Pedro Sánchez’s government is dodging the answers, while the scrutiny of Red Eléctrica, the private company in the hands of the state that manages the supply network, continues. In a report on the Spanish government, British media outlet The Telegraph claims, citing sources in Brussels, that an "experiment" was the cause of the blackout.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, one of The Telegraph's veteran firms, points to the Spanish government as responsible for the national emergency during which eight deaths occurred that several Spanish associations link to the lack of electricity supply for almost 24 hours.

Behind the "experiment" cited by The Telegraph was a renewable energy agenda that the socialist government is pushing forward at an accelerated pace with the aim of completely shutting down the nuclear alternative in Spain.

Ending nuclear energy

"If it is established that the blackout was a controlled experiment that went wrong, and if this information has been withheld from the public for almost four weeks, the Spanish Left faces electoral oblivion for a political generation," said The Telegraph in its analysis.

"The government has de facto control over Red Eléctrica through a golden share (in breach of EU norms). It put a socialist politician and party loyalist in charge even though she had no experience in the field and faced withering criticism at the time. Her salary in this plum job is six times higher than the Spanish prime minister," Evan-Pritchard continues.

"The previous chief resigned in protest over political meddling. He accused the government of pushing its green agenda with ‘messianic’ zeal – but without taking the accompanying steps needed to pull it off."

The Telegraph reports unease in the European capital of Brussels at the lack of explanations from Madrid. Some E.U. sources quoted by the media say that it is being investigated whether Spain violated the European protocols of energy coordination at the time of the blackout.

While the Spanish government insists that everything was due to a one-off technical failure, The Telegraph claims that the handling of the incident has fueled concern, both inside and outside the country, due to institutional silence and lack of transparency.

The case has begun to generate worry in other European capitals, according to the report, which warns of the impact this crisis could have on the European Union's energy debate. The Spanish government's response could set a precedent in the midst of a review of the common electricity model.