"Portugal had a highly positive reaction" to the blackout

The Government will set up an independent technical commission and request a European audit to assess the electricity systems in the countries affected by the blackout on 28 April, said Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in a statement during the informal Council of Miniters held in Lisbon; he added that "we will not spare any efforts in finding explanations for such a serious issue that did not originate in Portugal".

Luís Montenegro announced he will request that the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators hold an independent audit of the electricity systems in the countries affected "to ascertain the causes behind this situation".

"Secondly, we decided to set up an independent technical commission in Portugal to assess the crisis reaction and management mechanisms, the electricity system’s resilience and recovery, the resilience of the critical infrastructure and services, as well as the civil protection and communications system, and healthcare", he stated.

The commission will have seven members: an expert in energy, an expert in communications networks and systems, an expert in civil protection, an expert in health, and three people appointed by Parliament. It will run during the next Government in office.

"This is not an independent technical commission to yield fast results in a hurry; this is an independent technical commission to assess and study reaction mechanisms, the crisis management, the electricity system’s recovery, the infrastructure’s resilience, that of critical services", he explained, offering as an example the commission formed in the wake of the 2017 fires.

The Government is "truly committed to retrieving all the findings on the causes and answers" to what happened. It is available "to help all the European bodies during the [European] audit process" Portugal will request.

Luís Montenegro said the country’ response "was highly positive" and civil protection "operated very well", although there is always the possibility to improve procedures in crises. "Portugal had a highly positive reaction to a situation that was very serious, unprecedented, and expected", he claimed.

The Prime Minister also announced the Government decided "it will not prolong nor aggravate the energy crisis declaration", which will end at 23:59.

Following the Council of Ministers, the Ministers of the Presidency Leitão Amaro, Parliamentary Affairs Pedro Duarte, Infrastructure and Housing Pinto Luz, and Environment and Energy Graça Carvalho attended the meeting called by the President of Parliament José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, with the parliamentary parties.