The blackout that affected Spain in 2025 served as a serious wake-up call for the business sector. This incident, which left millions of people without electricity and paralyzed economic activity for hours, has forced companies to rethink their business continuity and disaster resilience strategies. In this article, we analyze how Spanish organizations are responding to this crisis by intensifying chaos testing and implementing new preventive measures.

The rise of chaos testing in the business environment

What are chaos tests?

Chaos tests (or "chaos engineering") are a methodology that involves deliberately introducing failures in systems to assess their response and recovery capabilities. Originally developed by tech companies like Netflix, these tests have now spread to various economic sectors in Spain.

Significant increase after the blackout

Since the national blackout, there has been a 78% increase in the implementation of chaos tests among large Spanish companies. This increase responds to the need to:

• Identify vulnerabilities before they become real problems

• Improve response times to contingencies

• Strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructures

• Validate business continuity plans under extreme conditions

  
  

Types of tests being conducted

Companies are mainly conducting:

1. Simulations of prolonged power outages: Testing the effectiveness of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and emergency generators.

2. Network disconnection scenarios: Assessing the ability to maintain basic operations without connectivity.

3. Chain failure tests: Analyzing how a problem in one system can affect dependent systems.

4. Recovery exercises: Measuring the time needed to restore normal operations after a serious incident.

Preventive measures adopted by companies

Investment in autonomous energy infrastructure

The blackout has led to a 45% increase in investment in alternative energy systems:

• Installation of solar panels and energy storage systems

• Upgrading emergency generators with greater capacity and autonomy

• Implementation of microgrids in large industrial complexes

• Agreements with energy suppliers to ensure priority supplies

Decentralization of critical systems

Companies are adopting more distributed approaches to avoid single points of failure:

• Migration to cloud computing models with geographic redundancy

• Establishing secondary data centers in different regions

• Distribution of work teams across multiple physical locations

• Implementation of hybrid architectures that combine local and remote solutions

  
  

New crisis management protocols

More sophisticated protocols have been developed to respond to emergencies:

• Creation of multidisciplinary teams dedicated exclusively to crisis management

• Implementation of alternative communication systems (satellite, radio)

• Establishing clear lines of command with defined roles and responsibilities

• Regular drills involving all levels of the organization

  
  

Specialized training for staff

67% of large companies have increased training for their staff in:

• Action procedures in emergency situations

• Manual operation of critical systems

• First aid and basic safety

• Effective communication during crises

Success stories in different sectors

Financial sector

Spanish banks have been pioneers in implementing new measures after the blackout:

• Banco Santander has established a "double mirror" system for its critical operations, maintaining fully functional replicas in different countries.

• BBVA has developed a "degraded operation" mode that allows maintaining basic services even under extreme conditions.

• Smaller financial entities have formed consortiums to share contingency resources.

  
  

Industrial sector

The manufacturing industry has responded with:

• Capability to operate in "island mode", disconnected from external networks

• Installation of progressive start-up systems to avoid overloads when restoring power

• Collaboration agreements between nearby companies to share resources in emergencies

  
  

Healthcare sector

Hospitals and health centers have strengthened their capabilities with:

• Expansion of energy autonomy, going from hours to days

• Smart prioritization of critical services

• Improved coordination with external emergency services

• Digitalization with physical backup of critical medical histories

The role of insurers and the regulatory framework

New specific policies

Insurers have created specialized products that cover:

• Losses due to business interruption caused by prolonged blackouts

• Damage to sensitive equipment due to electrical fluctuations

• Costs of activating contingency plans

  
  

Pending regulatory changes

The Spanish government is working on:

• Stricter regulations on continuity plans for strategic sectors

• Tax incentives for investments in business resilience

• Minimum energy autonomy requirements based on sector and company size

Conclusions and recommendations

The blackout has served as a catalyst for a new culture of preparedness and resilience in the Spanish business fabric. Organizations that are seizing this opportunity to strengthen their capabilities will not only be better prepared for future contingencies, but may also gain competitive advantages through their greater reliability.

For companies that have not yet updated their plans, it is advisable to:

1. Conduct an honest assessment of critical vulnerabilities

2. Implement chaos tests adapted to their operational reality

3. Strategically invest in redundancy of essential systems

4. Train staff in emergency procedures

5. Establish alliances with other organizations to face crises in a coordinated manner

The business future in Spain inevitably involves incorporating resilience as a strategic value, transforming challenges into opportunities to create more robust and adaptable organizations.