All Lights Off

All Lights Off

By Celeste Pedro

May 2025 – It was a day like many others. Until all the lights went off.

In a single stroke, 60 million people were paralysed. Absolutely dependent on electric power, the Portuguese and the Spanish assessed the gravity of the situation as minutes went by. ‘My neighbour’s lights are out too; that happens. Wait, no internet either?’ In the next very few minutes, some of us managed to make phone calls, only to realise it was massive, and lose all forms of contact for the following 12 hours.

With no access to the news outlets, a useless phone became even more useless as batteries started running out. A sort of survival mode kicked in, for the good and sometimes for the bad. People went out to the streets, and direct communication and communal support were spontaneous. We were all in the same situation, worrying about what to do about our work, our kids at school, the food in the fridge, and the veracity of the information that was circulating (via a handful of radio stations only). The largest supermarkets closed, and gas stations closed.

We experienced first-hand proof that electricity controls everything: it doesn’t matter if you have the money, an electronic payment system means you can’t buy, sell, or get money from the bank. It doesn’t matter that reservoirs are full of water; no power means it will eventually not reach your pipes. Yet, still bearing some remnants of the COVID pandemic in mind, people reacted calmly. As hours went by and no real danger seemed to be in the lurk, we were left with only two tasks: to wait (and provide for immediate needs) and to enjoy. And people really did enjoy leaving work and school behind and occupying the streets, but mostly, people enjoyed the absence of the internet. And they enjoyed going through this together.

Despite some unfortunate cases and money losses in businesses, when power came back, we felt mostly privileged. Privileged about how quickly it was fixed and how harmless it was, privileged about what we have and don’t need, and thankful about what we have and didn’t know we did.