Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A world without light

One of the clear signs of continued economic depression in Spain is the number of homes that have been cut off from electricity. The price of electricity had risen by 60% over the last five years, a situation that was not helped by Mariano Rajoy’s reform of the energy sector last July. As part of the government’s austerity plan, state subsidy for supply was cut.

Estimates show that 1.4 million households had their supply cut last year for failure to pay bills. Many were reconnected within 48 hours following payment of the outstanding amount but still, this is a disturbing figure.

When Iberdrola cut our supply for one and a half hours last Friday to perform maintenance work, we felt the impact of being without electricity. I can only imagine what it must be like to spend 48 hours or more without this vital source of energy. 

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