The GSD has said that today’s general power blackout “once again exposes the Government’s complete inability to safeguard Gibraltar’s power infrastructure from avoidable failures, as we predicted.”

A statement continued: 

“Despite repeated warnings from the Opposition, including our April 2025 press release following 2 similar incidents and questions put to Minister Arias Vasquez in the May session of Parliament, the Government has failed to act decisively. There has been no implementation of proper safeguards and their refusal to enforce critical recommendations has now led to yet another unnecessary and damaging blackout. 

Improve grid resilience 

“We have consistently urged the Government to improve the grid’s resilience by ring-fencing key circuits and isolating faults so a single incident does not cascade into a full system failure. Yet this unheeded advice has led to every home, business and public service (including, shockingly, our 999 service) being plunged into darkness simply because the Government refuses to take the basic steps to protect our power supply. 

Enforce GEA supervisory oversight 

“Even more concerning is the Government’s continued failure to regulate the supervision of groundwork in critical locations. Our calls for the GEA to be empowered to mandate the presence of a contractor-funded supervisor during such works have gone ignored. This measure, simple in concept and at no cost to the taxpayer, would provide critical oversight and prevent the sort of damage and system failure we continue to suffer. 

“Minister Arias Vasquez repeatedly insisted in Parliament that the power grid was more resilient than ever. However, we have now witnessed a complete contradiction between her rhetoric and the reality on the ground, which has left the community exposed and vulnerable.”

Opposition MP Craig Sacarello commented, “How many more blackouts must we suffer before this Government accepts responsibility and acts? We are not dealing with extreme weather events or cyberattacks. These are very avoidable failures stemming from bad planning and no supervision. 

"The Government must now move beyond empty assurances. Gibraltar deserves a reliable distribution network which provides an uninterrupted service to the public”.