Unanimous support for electricity infrastructure legislation, with Opposition caveats

New legislation allowing for hefty fines on contractors who damage cable infrastructure was passed unanimously by Parliament on Wednesday, although Opposition support was caveated with criticism of the Government’s “reactive” approach to the issue.

The Electricity Infrastructure (Damage) Bill 2025 was debated in Parliament under powers for urgent legislation following two recent incidents in which damage to power cables caused major power cuts.

The legislation introduces strict liability for damage caused to Gibraltar’s critical electrical infrastructure and empowers the Gibraltar Electricity Authority to issue financial penalties of up to £100,000 in cases where such damage results in a power outage.

The main objective of the new law is to act as “a strong deterrent against careless or negligent work”, ensuring that those responsible for avoidable damage are held fully accountable.

“I welcome the Opposition’s support for this Bill, albeit guarded, which sends a united message that this kind of disruption will not be tolerated,” said Gemma Arias Vasquez, the Minister for Utilities.

“In recent months, Gibraltar has endured entirely avoidable power outages caused by carelessness near critical electrical infrastructure.”

“These incidents were not the result of a lack of power generation, they were, unfortunately, the result of individuals failing to exercise the duty of care required when working around our electricity network.”

“This legislation is decisive, proportionate and necessary. Importantly, it provides a clear deterrent and establishes real consequences for those who damage our infrastructure.”

“Alongside this law, Minister Cortes and I are also reviewing the service clearance regime to ensure it is watertight, transparent and properly enforced.”

“Protecting Gibraltar’s critical national infrastructure should never be a partisan issue, and I am pleased that the Parliament has unanimously supported this important piece of legislation.”

The GSD said it had given guarded support to the legislation while criticising what it described as repeated failures to prevent avoidable power outages.

Craig Sacarello said the legislation “feels rather like shutting the stable door after the horse has already bolted” and criticised the Government’s response to electricity infrastructure issues as reactive rather than preventative.

“On 16 September 2025, Gibraltar suffered a total blackout lasting seven hours. Just weeks later, on 25 October, another large-scale outage affected the North District,” he said.

“Both incidents [were] caused by contractors cutting through power cables.”

“When will the Government open its eyes and accept that the definition of madness is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result?”

The GSD argued that preventing future incidents requires a GEA official to be present during “grid-critical” works.

The party said this official should be paid for by the contractor and that fines alone would not be sufficient to deter further blackouts.

While acknowledging that the legislation’s proposed £100,000 strict liability fine was intended to act as a deterrent, the GSD questioned whether smaller contractors would be able to pay and raised concerns over insurance obligations.

Mr Sacarello also drew attention to the role of the Office of Fair Trading, noting that the contractor responsible for the September blackout, SDE Ltd, did not hold an up-to-date licence at the time of the incident.

He said that in the absence of real-time GEA oversight, it was essential that the OFT ensure contractors were competent in the field before issuing excavation licences.

“Reliability will not come from punishment after the fact,” Mr Sacarello said.

“But from proper contractor-funded GEA supervision, competent licensing, proactive oversight and a sustainable robust infrastructure.”