The GFSB has reacted to this week’s headline-making power cut that affected members across all sectors. Speaking to The Gibraltar Chronicle, Owen Smith, Chairman of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, said that power cuts have “a huge impact” on businesses, particularly small ones where not everyone can afford a generator.

He noted that while many businesses had installed UPS systems to save work and shut down computers safely, not all were able to do so. “A lot of this is about lost product and lost customers. Members could not take payments. With two cruise ships in town and the airport shutdown and a flight diverted, it’s also a terrible image for the Rock. So the impact is very difficult to quantify but would likely run into hundreds of thousands of pounds,” he said.

Mr Smith welcomed the Government’s commitment to toughening legislation to sanction contractors who fail to take appropriate steps to avoid damage, but stressed this was only part of the solution. “The other part is to have a robust power grid, and that should be a matter of priority,” he added, welcoming in that context the Government’s £16.5m investment in a Battery Energy Storage System at the power station, which would provide energy resilience in the event of a power cut.

Was your business affected? The GFSB is taking action, contact gfsb@gfsb.gi