Berliner Boersenzeitung - Candles and radios in demand in Spain as blackout lessons sink in

EUR -
AED 4.290221
AFN 81.19713
ALL 97.720048
AMD 448.36783
ANG 2.091743
AOA 1071.241313
ARS 1538.229669
AUD 1.789799
AWG 2.102763
AZN 1.995111
BAM 1.968186
BBD 2.359046
BDT 142.104284
BGN 1.956399
BHD 0.440469
BIF 3446.19494
BMD 1.168202
BND 1.503357
BOB 8.074331
BRL 6.312141
BSD 1.168353
BTN 102.428172
BWP 15.730001
BYN 3.857121
BYR 22896.752824
BZD 2.347021
CAD 1.609367
CDF 3376.103258
CHF 0.942306
CLF 0.028494
CLP 1117.793701
CNY 8.38675
CNH 8.393348
COP 4696.754833
CRC 591.057564
CUC 1.168202
CUP 30.957344
CVE 110.80415
CZK 24.473006
DJF 207.613216
DKK 7.462285
DOP 71.756816
DZD 151.713517
EGP 56.596335
ERN 17.523025
ETB 163.402255
FJD 2.629975
FKP 0.86486
GBP 0.865141
GEL 3.14827
GGP 0.86486
GHS 12.295344
GIP 0.86486
GMD 84.697106
GNF 10134.149407
GTQ 8.964414
GYD 244.454082
HKD 9.170325
HNL 30.78209
HRK 7.534085
HTG 153.183844
HUF 395.544867
IDR 18964.585987
ILS 3.994233
IMP 0.86486
INR 102.288147
IQD 1530.344194
IRR 49210.496251
ISK 143.197888
JEP 0.86486
JMD 186.896167
JOD 0.828307
JPY 172.956349
KES 151.286673
KGS 102.042156
KHR 4680.983601
KMF 492.39668
KPW 1051.308534
KRW 1615.517602
KWD 0.356851
KYD 0.97369
KZT 631.967644
LAK 25233.155843
LBP 104647.481206
LKR 351.793894
LRD 235.387105
LSL 20.642267
LTL 3.449396
LVL 0.706633
LYD 6.337508
MAD 10.552427
MDL 19.623755
MGA 5186.815513
MKD 61.575411
MMK 2452.330152
MNT 4201.308917
MOP 9.447662
MRU 46.658469
MUR 53.304611
MVR 17.991808
MWK 2028.579211
MXN 21.710018
MYR 4.931566
MZN 74.717583
NAD 20.64211
NGN 1792.6129
NIO 42.931055
NOK 11.929915
NPR 163.874286
NZD 1.960908
OMR 0.44918
PAB 1.168428
PEN 4.119372
PGK 4.845003
PHP 66.49229
PKR 329.958903
PLN 4.255272
PYG 8751.071855
QAR 4.252836
RON 5.0624
RSD 117.144905
RUB 92.811661
RWF 1686.883218
SAR 4.384387
SBD 9.614991
SCR 17.196337
SDG 701.498651
SEK 11.149258
SGD 1.498552
SHP 0.918023
SLE 27.090028
SLL 24496.603437
SOS 667.61303
SRD 43.712352
STD 24179.416076
STN 24.941106
SVC 10.223337
SYP 15188.899789
SZL 20.641815
THB 37.80256
TJS 10.924954
TMT 4.100388
TND 3.36267
TOP 2.736049
TRY 47.612979
TTD 7.928404
TWD 34.992665
TZS 2870.851927
UAH 48.477778
UGX 4159.17433
USD 1.168202
UYU 46.663662
UZS 14646.331526
VES 155.081751
VND 30688.657994
VUV 139.658608
WST 3.105227
XAF 660.153833
XAG 0.030628
XAU 0.000349
XCD 3.157123
XCG 2.105651
XDR 0.820472
XOF 658.277823
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.689683
ZAR 20.540338
ZMK 10515.219835
ZMW 26.961403
ZWL 376.160463
  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    73.08

    0%

  • CMSD

    -0.0107

    23.56

    -0.05%

  • NGG

    -0.9500

    70.28

    -1.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.08

    +0.09%

  • RIO

    0.9600

    63.1

    +1.52%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    16.19

    +1.42%

  • RYCEF

    0.6400

    14.94

    +4.28%

  • VOD

    0.0300

    11.54

    +0.26%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • BCC

    3.5200

    84.26

    +4.18%

  • AZN

    1.2700

    75.34

    +1.69%

  • GSK

    0.5100

    38.22

    +1.33%

  • RELX

    -0.2100

    47.83

    -0.44%

  • JRI

    -0.0100

    13.38

    -0.07%

  • BTI

    -0.4100

    57.92

    -0.71%

  • BCE

    0.1500

    24.5

    +0.61%

  • BP

    0.1200

    34.07

    +0.35%

Advertisement Image
Candles and radios in demand in Spain as blackout lessons sink in
Candles and radios in demand in Spain as blackout lessons sink in / Photo: Paul Hanna - AFP

Candles and radios in demand in Spain as blackout lessons sink in

Madrid residents returned to work Tuesday a day after a crippling nationwide blackout in Spain with a renewed sense of the necessity of candles, cash and battery-powered radios for emergencies.

Advertisement Image

Text size:

After taking five times as long as usual to get home on Monday with only cards to make payments, Valentin Santiago told AFP he now knows "you should always carry cash".

The environmental technician said he now plans to buy a pocket flashlight and a battery-powered radio so he can more easily stay informed in the event of a future power outage.

With power down across Spain and Portugal on Monday, and phone coverage spotty, access to the internet and television was wiped out.

People were instead forced to gather around transistor radios in the streets or cars with their radios blaring and doors open to listen to the news.

"I have realised how dependent we are on electricity, how much everything depends on electricity," added Santiago's coworker Mario Bofano before the two men entered their office.

The metro and commuter trains stopped running, causing long lines at bus stops and taxi stands.

Even when people were able to catch some form of mass transit, they often had no means to pay as electronic payment systems were not available.

Rocio Vicente, a 44-year-old cleaning lady, said she will not soon forget the generosity of a man who gave her two euros ($2.30) to pay for a bus ticket since she had no cash.

- Emergency kits -

Many people walked for hours to get home. Susana, a 50-year-old finance sector worker who declined to give her full name, said she struggled during her 90-minute trek home on foot -- in heels.

The lesson she learned? "Wear sneakers," she joked as she had breakfast with coworkers at a central Madrid cafe where a television replayed images of the chaos unleashed by the massive blackout.

"You have to buy a transistor radio, candles, batteries and tins of white beans," she said.

Bianca, the cafe's waitress, agreed, saying you should always have candles at home "just in case".

Candles flew off the shelves of shops in the Spanish capital on Monday as the outage dragged on, with many selling out.

No firm cause for the blackout has yet emerged, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday announcing a commission to investigate.

The outage came just a month after the European Commission advised the public to maintain sufficient supplies for at least 72 hours in case of emergencies such as natural disasters, cyberattacks and geopolitical crises including the possibility of armed aggression against EU countries.

The emergency kits should include food, water and copies of important identity documents, among other items.

- 'Very vulnerable' -

Maria Jesus Cobos managed to drive home through Madrid overnight after being left without light and communications until almost 11:00 pm (2100 GMT).

"That showed that we are very vulnerable. There's something that isn't being done well. I had to drive without traffic lights," she told AFP.

But she added that people had been "very civilised".

"It shows us that we can get by," added the 50-year-old lawyer, who recounted meeting people standing by the road with signs showing their intended destination.

Some people, like 32-year-old lawyer Marcos Garcia, welcomed the pause as "an afternoon of respite, a technology break, an impromptu disconnection".

"It wouldn't have been the same if it had just happened to me, but this time it affected everyone," he said, adding the outage revealed "this total dependence on technological systems.

"Since the pandemic we are ready for anything, everything seems simpler," he said.

(U.Gruber--BBZ)

Advertisement Image