• Electricity Infrastructure (Damage) Bill 2025 to be certified urgent and considered on 5th November 2025

His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar confirms that a power interruption occurred yesterday evening after a contractor struck an underground electricity cable on Devil’s Tower Road.

The works were being carried out by AMCO, who had been subcontracted by Situs and had plans prior to commencing operations. Despite this, the contractor drilled through a live cable, causing a temporary loss of supply to the area around Devil‘s Tower Road.

His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar is extremely concerned by this incident. The Government had already published legislation earlier this month to create a new offence for damaging electrical infrastructure, carrying financial penalties of up to £100,000 in addition to any costs incurred by the GEA for repairs. This legislation will now be brought to Parliament for consideration as emergency legislation on 5th November 2025, the date of the next sitting of Parliament.

The Minister with responsibility for Public Utilities, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident. The contractor had plans for the site, yet still drilled through a live cable, causing unnecessary disruption as well as the possibility of harm for the individual drilling through the cable. As the taxpayer would expect, we are already speaking to the contractor to recover the costs for the damage.

“The Government has spent millions to modernise Gibraltar’s power station and grid, and it is simply unacceptable for contractors to damage cables, especially when they have been clearly told where those cables are located. Having discussed the matter with the Chief Minister, the Bill I published earlier this month will now be considered as emergency legislation on 5th November 2025 to strengthen our ability to hold contractors accountable and to better protect Gibraltar’s critical infrastructure.”