Spanish MPs dealt a significant blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist-led coalition government on Tuesday, by voting down a bill aimed at preventing future large-scale power outages like the one experienced in April, affecting the entire Iberian Peninsula.
The proposed legislation was defeated in the Spanish Congress by 183 votes to 165. A coalition of far-right, far-left, and mainstream opposition parties united to block the measure, directly challenging Sánchez’s government.
According to the government, the bill was designed to strengthen oversight of Spain’s electrical grid, implement stricter technical inspections, and introduce other preventive steps to avoid a repeat of the April blackout that left the country without electricity for several hours. ALSO READ: Spain’s grid operator and electricity providers exchange accusations over blackout.
In addition to addressing systemic weaknesses, the legislation included provisions to extend deadlines for the installation of new wind and solar energy projects. ALSO READ: Spain’s opposition parties blame PM’s renewable energy policies for blackout.
However, the right-wing People’s Party (PP), the main opposition group, chose to vote against the bill rather than abstaining – an option that would have allowed it to pass.
Despite pressure from energy companies urging the PP to support the bill, the party refused, citing strained ties with the government.
‘We do not approve of this government’s energy policy, we do not approve of this so-called anti-blackout plan, which is nothing more than an attempt (by the government) to cover up its mistakes and erase its faults,’ PP MP Guillermo Mariscal said ahead of the vote.
Anticipating defeat, Sánchez – who was visiting Montevideo at the time – said shortly before the session: ‘Those who accused us of obscurantism and of not proposing solutions that protect the user, the consumer and ultimately our country, are the ones who are bringing down’ this plan.
A government report published in June attributed the April outage to an overload that triggered a cascading failure across the energy system. The findings pointed to errors made by the grid operator and several power companies. ALSO READ: Reasons for Spain’s April power blackout: ‘overvoltage’ & ‘poor planning’.
Click here to read all our reports related to Spain’s blackout.
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