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Ignacio Lillo
Friday, 2 May 2025, 11:33
I don't know what could have caused Monday's great blackout, and I highly doubt we'll ever find out - or that they'll want us to know the real, real truth. As a famous politician said years ago, if you want to make sure nothing is ever known about something, the best thing to do is set up an investigative committee.
What I do know is what I learned after spending half the day roaming the city and the other half searching for phone signal and internet - The Last of Us had nothing on me. And although I'm sure all of you, who are wiser and more experienced, already know this, I feel like sharing it, just in case it helps someone. Or not.
When something like this suddenly happens, our delusions of grandeur - of being a rich, first-world, civilised, European, "cool" country - vanish at the speed of light... the same speed the light goes out and renders half our world useless. So, the first lesson is that we can't rely entirely on electricity. It's very convenient, very clean, and when it's from renewable sources, also very eco-friendly.
But as we've now seen, if it goes, you're screwed. From what I know of other countries' experiences, it is common to keep gas stoves, battery-powered torches, plenty of spare batteries, and even something as mundane as candles at home. Next time, the power might not be out for hours but for days, and we need to be prepared.
It's also a good idea to have some tinned food in the pantry, the old-school kind - enough to survive a few days without having to queue up at the supermarket.
Because that's another thing: in situations like this, a lot of people literally lose it. On Monday I watched shelves get cleared out by people hoarding food they'll probably chuck out in a few days... What can you do? Fear is free, and panic even more so.
Closely tied to that: no matter how used we are to paying by card, you need to keep some cash at home - enough to get by for a while.
Without electricity, there are no card readers or ATMs, and stores only accept notes, good old-fashioned cash. Plus, without mobile internet, even Bizum payments stop working.
In short, like it or not, situations like Monday's remind us just how fragile and vulnerable our society is when faced with sudden, radical change - and we'd better be prepared.
Our modern, digital, AI-driven lives can vanish as quickly as it takes a phone battery to die.
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