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The power outage in Spain caused a damage of 190 million euros in the Spanish slaughterhouses alone. The agriculture sector was also directly affected.
At the Iberian Peninsula, a massive power outage occurred at the end of April. Now, the Spanish slaughter industry has estimated its damage to a total of 190 million euros. Stunned animals and carcasses were backed up on the slaughter lines. Many had to be disposed of later, according to the National Association of the Meat Industry (Anice) and the Federation of the Meat Industry (Fecic), as reported by Spanish media.
Damages in slaughterhouses due to interrupted cooling chains
Also, damages occurred due to the interrupted cooling chain in the refrigerated warehouses. In meat processing, raw materials had to be disposed of. Additionally, there were damages to technical equipment due to the power outage.
Blackout leads to massive impacts on dairy farming
The power outage lasted for 18 hours - which also had a massive impact on dairy farming operations. The farming associations COAG and Asaja reported that milking processes for cows, sheep, and goats were disrupted. They now fear problems with udder health. Additionally, the milk stored in tanks could not be cooled. Furthermore, technical equipment, especially milking robots, suffered damages.
Extent of damages in agriculture not yet estimated
In livestock farms without emergency generators, the situation was critical, reported Asaja. However, they did not specify the impacts, for example in pig farming. For instance, ventilation systems in pig stables are usually reliant on electricity. In crop cultivation, problems arose due to the failure of irrigation systems, according to the farmers' association. However, it is still too early to estimate the total damage in Spanish agriculture.
Losses in the billions
The time reported that due to the power outage, many supermarkets had to dispose of their entire refrigerated and frozen products due to the interrupted cooling chain. The food had become too warm. The employer association CEOE estimates an economic total damage of around 1.6 billion euros in Spain. Some experts even suggest figures ranging from 2.25 to 4.5 billion euros.