The blackout that left the country without power for around 10 hours yesterday has raised questions about safety and how to act in a similar situation in the future.

The various Portuguese political leaders were quick to react, pointing out the failures that occurred during the day and highlighting the need to promote a discussion on the matter.

The PS secretary-general argued that the Security Coordination Office should be convened and all security and civil protection services brought together to respond to the power outage. The PS secretary-general pointed out that the country experienced "a moment of tremendous abnormality" and also criticised the reaction of Civil Protection.

"Communication management in any crisis is never easy, but today, more information and speed were required from Civil Protection", wrote Pedro Nuno Santos.

"In an instant, what we took for granted disappeared, and our daily lives underwent a profound change. Suddenly, what was simple became difficult; what was routine became a challenge," wrote Pedro Nuno Santos.

"Population in the dark"

André Ventura also focused his message on the importance of keeping the population informed.

The president of Chega argued that the Government must "guarantee immediate coordination of all structures" following the blackout that affected the country, and urged the executive to inform the population on how to proceed.

"Faced with a 'general blackout' whose cause has yet to be determined, the Government must ensure immediate coordination of all security, energy, information and civil protection structures," wrote the Chega leader in a post on his page on social network X.

André Ventura argued that "the population should not be left in the dark, without the minimum information and without knowing what to do or how to proceed", warning that "this is promoting chaos and national confusion".


Disinformation

Mariana Mortágua also made an appeal in the same sense, considering that this would be the best way to combat "misinformation".

"Given the disruption caused by the power outage, the Government is expected to respond promptly to the essential sectors affected and to communicate quickly with the country, including in combating disinformation," wrote the BE leader on the X social network.

PAN spokesperson Inês Sousa Real criticised the delay in information from Civil Protection after the power outage in Portugal that lasted more than 10 hours.

"The dimension of civil protection and resilience of cities is fundamental, so that at least the information is promptly received by citizens, as the information from civil protection only arrived at the end of the day. Let us take this case as an example of what still needs to be done and corrected", wrote Inês Sousa Real on social network X.

The PCP considered that the drop in the supply of electricity requires "measures that contribute to the rapid restoration of supply", with priority given to "essential services for the population", such as health, transport, education or security.

Paulo Raimundo also said that he will request that a parliamentary debate on the cut in electricity supply be scheduled for Wednesday, considering that "vulnerabilities and problems" in the national electricity system have become evident and must be assessed.

Livre's spokesperson, Rui Tavares, defended "an in-depth analysis of the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructures", taking into account the situation the country experienced on Monday, after a national blackout that lasted more than 10 hours.

"Now that the country is returning to normal, everyone's hope is that there were no serious consequences for our fellow citizens, beyond an unusual day. Ensuring that this was the case must be the first priority," he said on X.