Contractor faces £40,000 fine and repair bill over Bayside power outage

Macmillan Ltd is to repay £10,904.35 in emergency repair costs and will receive a £40,000 financial penalty after damaging a high voltage cable that caused a power outage across several areas of Gibraltar last month.

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, Gemma Arias Vasquez, who is also responsible for the Gibraltar Electricity Authority, met the contractor earlier this week to discuss the incident on August 19.

The damaged cable was in the areas of the Elysium development and caused a loss of electricity supply to Devil's Tower Road, parts of Laguna Estate, Marina Club, Four Corners Estate, the Air Terminal and Underpass, Churchill Centre, Notre Dame School, South Dispersal and surrounding areas.

Supply was fully restored by 10.08am that morning.

At the time of the outage, the Gibraltar Government said the damaged cable was on the same electricity ring as the cable involved in an earlier total blackout on June 26, although at a different location.

But changes to strengthen the distribution network after the June outage meant the August fault was contained to a localised area rather than cascading into a wider blackout.

On Thursday, the Government said Ms Arias Vasquez conveyed its disappointment on behalf of those affected and sought a full account of how the works had been planned and carried out.

Macmillan Ltd agreed to repay the £10,904.35 cost of Elysium's emergency attendance and temporary repair works, meaning the cost will not be met from public funds.

The Gibraltar Electricity Authority will also issue a £40,000 financial penalty under the Electricity Infrastructure (Damage) Act 2025.

The legislation came into operation on November 7 last year and created an offence of causing damage to electrical infrastructure where this results in a power outage to all or part of Gibraltar.

The offence is one of strict liability, meaning there is no requirement to prove that the damage was intended.

Where an offence is committed by someone acting in the course of their employment, their employer is liable in the same manner and to the same extent.

The Authority can impose a financial penalty of up to £100,000, subject to the notice, representations and appeal procedure set out in the Act.

“I met the contractor to make the Government's position clear,” Mrs Arias Vasquez said.

“Damage of this kind is avoidable, and those responsible should carry the cost rather than the public.”

“The emergency attendance and temporary repair costs will be repaid in full, and a financial penalty of £40,000 will be issued under the Act.”

“I said when this legislation was passed that these powers exist to be used where the evidence supports it, and that is what is happening here.”

“Contractors who dig in Gibraltar are given detailed cable drawings and on site instructions by the Authority, and they are expected to use them and to follow them.”

The Gibraltar Government also thanked engineers and staff at the Gibraltar Electricity Authority for restoring the electricity supply.