According to data from the Spanish Business Organization (CEOE), a massive power outage on Monday caused about 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in economic losses in Spain.
That corresponds to about 0.1 percentage point in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), said in the alliance requested on Wednesday.
Newspaper El País reported that some bank analysts even expected losses to range from €2.25 billion to €4.5 billion. However, according to the paper, other experts believe the losses may be lower, as some production losses can still be compensated for over the year.
The power outages largely paralyzed the country for more than 10 hours. Many industrial companies, such as Pamplona’s Volkswagen and its auxiliary seats near Barcelona, have to interrupt production.
Some industrial facilities reportedly suffered losses due to sudden power interruption.
The food industry and retail industry have also complained about huge losses, such as those caused by cold chain disruptions. Many supermarkets have to deal with the entire refrigeration and freezing stock because the food gets too warm.
Many shops and restaurants closed early, cash machines failed, and no more cards occurred everywhere.
The construction site was stagnant, long-distance trains stopped on open roads, and underground trains stopped in tunnels.
There are still no confirmed details about the cause of the largest power outage in the country’s history. The Spanish government announced a meticulous investigation.
On Monday, there were also widespread power outages in Portugal.
