Jun 26 - Spark “Deeply Regrets” Chief Minister’s Comments
The Spark Group of Companies has made a further statement following the recent comments made by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, on Wednesday and yesterday in Parliament.
Spark says it is “surprised” and “deeply regrets” the Chief Minister’s most recent comments against the Company and the manner in which he has chosen to deal with this issue. In particular, says the company, the “very serious insinuation” that Spark has somehow directly or indirectly caused the recent power cuts that have recently affected Gibraltar “is nothing short of disgraceful.”
A statement released yesterday evening continues:
“These allegations are completely untrue, unfounded and are an outrageous slur on our reputation. We are taking legal advice on this particular matter and will consider taking any necessary steps in order to protect our reputation but we understand that the Chief Minister enjoys parliamentary privilege for those comments made in Parliament. No evidence whatsoever has been produced (as none exists) by the Chief Minister to back these quite incredible remarks.
“We do however welcome Mr Picardo’s comment that a full investigation will be carried out and we look to receiving a copy of that report. We are positive that the outcome of this investigation will vindicate our position. With regards to the investigations which we confirmed in our previous press release that were carried out at our power plants by an independent third party, we can confirm that the report has now been completed and finalised. The report shows that in no way can the recent power cuts be attributed to the Spark power plants. No fault or deliberate intervention has been found or exists at our power plants.
“We invite the Chief Minister to retract all his recent statements made against Spark and in particular the insinuation that we have deliberately conspired to cause the most recent power cuts. For the avoidance of doubt, Spark has at all times carried out and fulfilled our contractual obligations with HM Government and has performed our duties in good faith and diligently. Spark would have hoped for, but remains open to, constructive and positive dialogue between itself and HM Government in order to resolve these issues.
“Spark however wishes to assure the community, despite those comments by the Chief Minister in Parliament yesterday, that Spark will do everything in its power to ensure and safeguard Gibraltar’s interests and in particular its power generating capabilities as we have always done. Minister Cortes in one of his speeches after the latest power cuts has admitted our reliability and professionalism, he said: “...it has been nearly seven months since we had the power cut on 14 November 2014. This has been the longest period without generating power cuts for at least 20 years and the average for this year is by far the lowest. The situation is clearly much more positive and much more under control than ever before”. Spark intends to deliver the same high standards of our service to Gibraltarians regardless any comments and allegations made against us.
“In respect of the comments made regarding the Lloyds Report, we will be issuing a press statement in the near future dealing on this matter separately.”
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