LISBON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The nationwide power outage that struck Portugal on April 28 may have cost companies more than 2 billion euros (2.26 billion U.S. dollars) in economic losses, according to a survey conducted by the Portuguese Industrial Association.
According to the survey, 99 percent of the participating companies said they were affected by the blackout, while 71 percent of them reported failures in fulfilling client commitments, such as deliveries and services.
The survey found that 57 percent of the companies lacked emergency power systems, such as generators or backup batteries, which revealed structural weaknesses in the national energy system.
Also, 67 percent of the companies believed they should be compensated in forms of direct compensation or reductions in energy tariffs or taxes.
Spain's national grid operator Red Electrica de Espana and Portugal's Redes Energeticas Nacionais were identified by most companies as the primary entities responsible for the damage caused by the major power blackout.
The survey found that 49 percent of the participating companies are considering filing formal complaints, while 42 percent do not intend to do so.
The survey, which assessed the impact of the April 28 blackout that affected the Iberian Peninsula, gathered responses from 1,710 businesses across Portugal between May 2 and May 6. ■
