In a press conference, the Spanish socialist president attacked nuclear energy with lies and misinformation
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One day after the colossal blackout that left tens of millions of people without electricity in the Iberian Peninsula, the Spanish socialist president, Pedro Sánchez, blamed nuclear power plants for "being a problem" during the blackout.
"Nuclear power plants, far from being a solution, have been a problem because they were shut down, and it was necessary to divert large amounts of energy to them to keep their cores stable," stated Sánchez during a press conference.
The statement is not only technically incorrect but also reflects an alarming lack of understanding, or a deliberate misrepresentation, of the role that nuclear energy plays in the Spanish electrical system.
Pedro Sánchez, presidente de España.
In response to this attack on nuclear energy, engineer Alfredo García, a nuclear reactor operator and a recognized voice in scientific dissemination, was blunt: "The president lies about nuclear power plants or demonstrates his ignorance about electrical technology by accusing them of worsening the April 28, 2025 blackout."
According to García, nuclear power plants, far from being a "problem," are precisely one of the pillars of stability of a modern electrical system. One of their main virtues is the contribution of inertia to the system, an essential physical property for maintaining stability in the face of frequency disturbances, like those that precipitated the April 28 collapse.
This inertia is not provided by either wind farms or photovoltaic solar installations, intermittent technologies and weather-dependent, which are promoted by Sánchez's government, while at the same time combating the use of nuclear energy.
The closure of nuclear power plants
It is true that, at the time of the blackout, half of the Spanish nuclear power capacity was out of service. But what Sánchez intentionally or unknowingly concealed is that these shutdowns were not spontaneous failures, but authorizations granted by Red Eléctrica, a company that depends on the government itself.
As if that were not enough, the reason for these shutdowns is a combination of low electricity prices and a deliberately hostile fiscal policy. Since 2019, taxes on nuclear generation increased by 71%. This regulatory pressure from Sánchez's government responds to an ideological vision that seeks the progressive closure of the nuclear park without taking responsibility for the technical consequences of that decision.
Red Eléctrica's own financial report, prepared by Ernst & Young, warned about the increased risk of blackouts following the nuclear closure: lower firm capacity, difficulties in system balancing, and greater operational risks. The same warning was issued by the General Council of Official Associations of Industrial Engineers. Closing the nuclear plants was going to increase the system's instability, CO₂ emissions, and the price of electricity, as indeed happened.
Pedro Sánchez, presidente de España.
The Spanish socialist president's statement also ignores that when a nuclear power plant disconnects from the grid, as happened in this blackout, its diesel generator system kicks in to ensure the supply of critical systems.
Far from being a "problem," this demonstrates that nuclear plants are designed with strong safety to operate even in extreme situations, something that can't be said of all the technologies currently in the energy mix.
Nuclear power plants are important because they produce electricity on a large scale in a relatively consistent and cheap manner, do not generate greenhouse gases during their operation, and help reduce dependence on more polluting fossil fuels. This makes them a key energy source.
Accelerating the closure of nuclear power plants, as Sánchez promotes, only achieves greater instability. Blaming nuclear plants after a blackout of this magnitude is another way to shift responsibilities, a very common action by Sánchez.
