How the ‘blackout’ practically switched off communications

When the electricity supply is cut across the whole country, as happened on Monday, the risk of the disruption growing rises exponentially as time passes and the power does not come back. Batteries and generators are the main options for keeping electrical equipment running, but only as long as there is charge and fuel. There are no miracles.

In the ‘blackout’ of 28 April, which began at 11:33am, more than eight hours passed before power started to be restored, and many consumers had to wait ten hours or more to get their electricity back. The problem also caused cuts to the water supply in many regions. By the next morning other weaknesses were plain to see, with reports of new failures in SIRESP (the State’s emergency communications network), problems with INEM’s emergency call handling and a Civil Protection alert that reached people far too late.