Spanish lawmakers on Tuesday inflicted a major defeat on the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez by rejecting a law intended to avert a repeat of the huge power cut this year.
The government lost a vote on the proposed law by 183 to 165. The far right and far left joined with mainstream opposition parties to counter Sánchez.
The government said the proposed law aimed to toughen monitoring of Spain’s electrical system, improve technical checks and take other measures to avoid a repeat of chaos on April 28 when most of the Iberian peninsula lost power for several hours.
The law would also have made deadlines more flexible for installing new wind turbines and solar parks.
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The main conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) voted against instead of using an abstention that would have ensured the law passed.
Energy companies had pressed for the PP to back the law. But the party has poor relations with the government and would not make a concession.
“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 deputy Guillermo Mariscal said before the vote.
Apparently aware that the law would be rejected, Sánchez, who was on a trip to Montevideo, said just before the vote: “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.
According to a government report released in June, the April blackout was caused by an overload that caused a chain reaction in the energy system. The report highlighted mistakes by the network operator and some power companies.
