Electricity is nearing full restoration in Spain at dawn Tuesday. At 02:50, 82.4 percent of the grid had returned to normal operating conditions, according to the latest update from Red Eléctrica, the Spanish power utility. Also, the restoration of substations specifically for electrified public transport now stands at 99.11%. The picture is similar in Portugal, as well as in areas of France that were plunged for more than 12 hours into an absolute energy blackout.

However, while normality is returning after the polar chaos and the agony caused by “El Cero” (i.e. “Zero”, as the sudden and massive blackout was dubbed), not only the Iberian countries but Europe and certainly a very large part of the world community remain numb.

And equally vulnerable to conspiracy theories as to the causes of the biggest energy blackout in the history of Spain and Portugal. For those who have recently watched the Netflix series “Zero Day” starring Robert de Niro, the panic that ensued when the power grid crippled the lives of tens of millions of people was merely a verification of the grim prophecy implicitly stated in “Zero Day.”

Besides, large parts of Spain remain under a state of emergency, based on decisions taken as a matter of urgency by the country’s government. And while the European Union was quick to emphasize in a public statement by the Commission that the possibility of a cyberattack is completely ruled out (something that happened, mysteriously, in “Zero Day”), conspiracy theorists are predictably refusing to be convinced. Some of them prefer to believe that the blackout was, for example, a warning “slap in the face” of what might happen to the country, as part of alleged retaliation for cancelling a major deal to sell munitions to Israel at the last minute.

Another cabal of conspiracy theorists, with clearly more rationality and a veneer of technological and scientific knowledge, attribute the collapse of the electricity grid to Spain’s abrupt shift to Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Since just a few days ago, the country was celebrating the success of a nationwide experiment that confirmed that the energy needs of Spaniards can be met entirely by electricity generated by the power of the elements of nature – the sun, water, air.

Spain is one of the countries leading the world in the race towards the adoption of“green” energy solutions, apparently because it has an abundance of natural resources, mainly the sun and the air. Already in 2024, the share of renewables in the overall energy mix reached 56%, a new historical record. And the target is 81% from renewables by 2030. It is possible, however, based on the objections raised by some, that the grids have not yet reached the reliability point required for such a heavy reliance on renewables.

Meanwhile, while an emergency meeting of the National Security Council chaired by King Philip VI is scheduled for today (Tuesday), the cause of the hours-long power outage remains under investigation. There is great caution on the part of the government and announcements are extremely cautious in order to avoid further public confusion, tension and panic.

On the Portuguese side, representatives of the national energy provider, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), directly blamed the blackout on the Spanish and the extreme changes in atmospheric temperature that have occurred in recent days.

More specifically, REN believes that “extreme temperature changes in inland Spain caused an unusual destabilisation in the flow of high-voltage (400 kV) current, a phenomenon called ‘forced atmospheric vibration’, which in turn caused a series of successive anomalies at various points in the European power grid and a drop in power transmission frequency below 50Hz. Problems of this type are not unknown – although they arise rarely.”

The crucial question, however, lies in whether the “El Cero” blackout is an isolated, random event or whether it is a highly ominous foreshadowing of the future in Western societies.