Nerja business owners complain of repeated power cuts on Burriana beach

The AEN has said that these incidents are having consequences that go beyond the occasional inconvenience caused by a power cut. “We are not talking about a mere inconvenience,” states the AEN in a statement posted on its social media channels, in which it calls for a stable power supply that meets the needs of an area with a high concentration of retail and hospitality businesses.

The association has pointed out that power cuts can result in direct financial losses for businesses, particularly for those that rely on cold stores, machinery, IT systems or electrical equipment to carry out their day-to-day operations. Added to this are potential product spoilage, damage to facilities and difficulties in serving customers as normal.

In light of the repeated power cuts, the AEN has asked all affected business owners to keep a formal record of each incident. The organisation advises them to request and keep the relevant incident number and subsequently lodge a complaint with the company responsible for the electricity supply or distribution.

The association also recommends gathering all documentation that can be used to prove any losses suffered, ranging from photographs and invoices to receipts for repairs or damaged goods. It also advises those affected to contact their insurance companies or brokers to check whether their policies cover this type of damage.

The unrest is taking place in one of the town’s most important areas for tourism and the hospitality industry. Nerja town hall has recently described Burriana as an "iconic area attracting large numbers of tourists" and one of the main landmarks along the Nerja coastline. The beach was once again awarded the Blue Flag and the ‘Q’ for Tourism Quality this past summer.

It is this economic importance that has led the AEN to call for an electricity infrastructure capable of supporting the area's economic activity. “Business owners cannot simply accept as normal the situation of working for days on end whilst wondering whether the power will cut out again,” states the AEN, which considers it essential to guarantee the stability of the electricity supply. The statement issued by the business organisation does not specify the technical cause of the outages nor does it quantify the exact number of businesses that have been affected.

There is also a recent history of problems with the electricity supply in the province’s easternmost coastal municipality. As reported by SUR on 1 January, around 200 residents of Maro were left without electricity for more than twelve hours on New Year’s Eve, in the second power cut recorded in the district in just four days. That incident led to numerous complaints from residents and calls for explanations from Endesa and its distribution company.

In that instance, the councillor for Maro, Nuchi Moreno, said it was "unacceptable" that a large part of the town centre remained without power on such an important date, and demanded to know the causes and the measures planned to prevent further incidents. The power cuts now reported by business owners are in Burriana and based on the available data, it cannot be established that they have the same cause as the outages recorded in Maro.

The AEN has announced that it will continue to monitor developments in the situation and that it will support the affected businesses with any claims they may wish to make. Its main recommendation is that no incident goes unreported, as documentation of the incidents and the damage may prove crucial when it comes to making any subsequent claims.

“A tourist and commercial area as important to Nerja as Burriana needs a stable electricity supply and infrastructure capable of supporting the economic activity it sustains,” the AEN has said. Business owners are now waiting for the power cuts to stop and to find out the cause of these outages which, according to the association, have been disrupting the normal running of businesses in this tourist hub of Nerja for several days.

Read comprehensive news from the Axarquía.