It was around 09.30h on the morning of the 8th of March that the Huerta Carrasco district of Motril saw a fleet of police vehicles and Endesa ones pull up – it was a surprise visit.

The utilities company, Endesa was well aware that many of the flats in this area were not only illegally connected up to the electricity network, but were also clandestine marijuana plantations, using up so much electricity that fuses were going pop in the sub-station.

During the four hours that the ‘visit’ lasted, the Endesa electricians came up with 118 illegal hook-ups in this Motril council estate (VPO’s) Of those 118, 108 were to flats, 9 in community offices and one in a business premises.

Most of this action was taking place on Calle Apolo, where the residents formed milling groups, discussing what was going on. Many were far from happy because the way the police were acting, they considered, anybody would have thought that residents of Calle Apolo were terrorists.

In fact, many of them, now with no electricity at home, marched down to the Town Hall to demand help after being ‘unjustly’ cut off. Many of them believe that ‘pagan los justos por pecadores’ (the innocent are paying for the sins of the guilty). You see, Endesa blitzed the meter cupboards in the blocks leaving sometimes just two meters out of 20 intact.

After a hurried meeting with the Mayor, Flor Almón, the Town Hall “took note” and is trying, as far as possible, to sort things out, so that those who had legal meters did not have their electricity cut off along with the rest of them.

The end result is that if they can prove that they live where they do, either with a rental contract some other documents, they can have their electricity supply reconnected without having to pay a reconnect penalty or outstanding sums owed.

However, they will first have to prove to the Social Services Department that they finds themselves in a precarious situation economically speaking in order to reach an individual deal with Endesa.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucía – Photo: José Miguel Paquet)