This week, a sudden blackout plunged large areas of Spain, France, and Portugal into darkness. Traffic lights shut down, traffic came to a standstill, appliances went silent. But the most invisible — and perhaps the most impactful — consequence was the paralysis of communication. No signal, no network, no electricity. The deepest and least visible effect was communicative silence: mobile networks down, internet inaccessible, servers isolated.
In Spain, the grid lost 15 gigawatts in seconds — about 60% of national demand — and web connectivity dropped to just 17% of normal usage. In Portugal, telecommunications were hit particularly hard, paralyzing the country.
Source: Sky TG24 – April 28, 2025
An apocalyptic scenario that raises a question straight out of a dystopian novel: how do we communicate without electricity?
The identity blackout
For brands, this type of event is much more than a technical failure: it’s an identity blackout.
Websites unreachable, newsletters interrupted, social media frozen, chatbots silent. Brand reputation — built daily through content, prompt replies, and constant presence — falters as soon as the connection drops.
And what if a data breach accompanied the blackout? The inability to communicate quickly, to explain, contain the damage, and reassure users could escalate into an unprecedented reputational crisis. In such scenarios, silence is never neutral: it becomes suspicious, deafening, dangerous.
When the entire digital ecosystem shuts down, brands can no longer respond, narrate, or reassure. In an era of nonstop communication, silence is never neutral — it’s a crack in trust, an exposed vulnerability.
Every minute of silence, in such a scenario, becomes a reputational risk.
A return to physicality
Without electricity, communication becomes physical again. Human. Analog. Battery-powered radios become more effective than smartphones; community bulletin boards more useful than Instagram feeds.
Brands without a plan B fall silent. Those that have invested in local presence — through print, local networks, and physical information points — still have a voice.
And what if it lasted for days?
The European blackout lasted hours but left its mark. Now imagine days or weeks without power: an energy dystopia forcing us to rethink everything.
Notifications, trending topics, and stories would disappear. Communication would become slower, more essential, more thoughtful — and perhaps more genuine.
But to withstand such a shift, preparation is key.
Communicative resilience as an asset
The April 28 event showed we can no longer ignore the vulnerability of digital communication. A new imperative is needed: resilience.
That means:
- Planning emergency communication strategies;
- Equipping with energy backups to ensure operational continuity;
- Training teams to manage crises without relying on technology.
In a world where a brand’s voice lives (and dies) online, being able to communicate in the dark becomes a strategic skill. Because the future won’t always be connected.
Communication becomes physical
Without power, we return to analog communication. To our voice. To gestures. To printed paper. To posted flyers. To megaphones. A physicality of messaging re-emerges — once deemed obsolete — but becomes crucial in emergencies.
The essence of communication — delivering a message to someone at a specific time and place — remains, but the medium changes completely.
Exercises in Communication Endurance
This event forces us to ask: How prepared are we?
Are there continuity plans for communication during prolonged blackouts?
Do brands have analog emergency strategies?
Have we learned how to communicate in the dark?
Electricity powers our words, but real strength lies in our ability to adapt. The blackout reminds us that having a plan B — even for communication — is no longer a remote hypothesis, but a concrete necessity.
