Electricity turned off at swimming pool, bar, football pitch and Instituto Al-Andalus

Instituto Al-Andalus (l.) with
football pitch in the distance

Generators hired for school and football

JIMENA On the 15th of the month, Endesa, the power company, cut the electricity to the area around the Al-Andalus vocational school, which also serves the municipal pool, the football pitch and the clubhouse and bar (sede). The reason? You guessed it: non-payment of bills. It turns out, say our sources, that while arrangements for payment had been agreed, the Council has been unable to meet them. This has been an ongoing problem: if you remember, the company turned off the power to the Town Hall on the day the new Jimena government took over. Pressure, pressure. However, generators have been hired for both the Al-Andalus school and the football pitch. The power cut happened just as the school kids were about to take their term exams. We have been unable to contact them or their teachers today to round off this item. The question arises as to whether there will be enough money for fuel to keep the generators running ... In the meantime, the people running the bar at the top of the hill complain that they have lost everything in their fridge and freezers so they might have to close but daren't because they are afraid of losing the concession, which is their only source of income.

Power cut tomorrow, Wednesday

JIMENA The Local Police issued a warning notice for tomorrow, December 15, from 8am to noon, that a power cut will take place for the following area: El Aguila, Carretera Algeciras-Ronda, Lomas de Cámara and Avda. los Deportes (does not specify how far up).

Jimena electricity debt is over €220,000

(Photo: TioJimeno)

JIMENA (TioJimeno) Further to our item on elecrticity being cut off at several municipal buildings, we read on TioJimeno that the reason is that the municipality owes the power company, Endesa, €70,000 in long standing unpaid bills. The total amount owed to the company is over €220,000, according to the Spanish website. A meeting is to take place between Endesa management and the Council to try to find a solution to the problem. The photo shows a sticker the company put on one of the meters they disconnected on Tuesday.

Endesa cuts off power at several municipal buildings

JIMENA (Agencies) The elecricity company cut off supply to several municipal buildings in Jimena and San Pablo. A spokesperson said that several bills were owed, a fact confirmed by the Town Hall. Lights went out at about 10amn at several places including the Casa de la Cultura almost opposite the Town Hall, where the investiture of the new Mayor was due to take place at 8 that evening. But supply was restored during the course of the afternoon, although there were srtill several offices without light at nine p.m. There were those who joked that this was a test prepared earlier for Mayor Guillermo Ruiz, who at the end of his investiture said, "I don't have the details yet so I don't know how serious the problem is. But I will be speaking to Endesa." It is confirmed by several Town Hall functionaries that several bills are outstanding, a fact that they told nthe brand new Mayor about. (Facetious note: candles were located at the back of several drawers...)

Power cut slows whole village down

JIMENA A power cut in Jimena that started at 7.45 and ended, partially, over an hour later, although the power was, and is as we write, very low indeed, has slowed the village down, as it always does. The Post Office, banks and other businesses were unable to attend to their clients, and worst of all - no coffee!! The phones at the Ayuntamiento are ringing busy all morning (we've been trying to find out if they know what caused the cut); the alarm at the pensioners' day centre have been ringing since 7.45 AND NOT A SINGLE POLICEMAN HAS TURNED UP, which they are supposed to do. We now have reports that the lights went out in San Pablo, but we have no news of anywhere else (do you?) And it is still at half power at whatever time this post is posted ... But Endesa ain't half fast in cutting you off if you don't pay!

Please allow us another Endesa whinge...

We spent three hours this morning gathering and translating news for you, Dear Reader, only to have a large part of the work disappear thanks to a couple of those little power cuts Endesa is so fond of giving us at no charge. Okay, maybe we haven't got the very best saving system on the computer, maybe we're not up to date in all sorts of ways, but we're much like most of our Dear Readers. To be well into the 21st century and to still get these cutas that more appropriately belong to the beginning of the last is, or should be, shameful to one of Europe's largest electricity suppliers. REMEMBER: TONIGHT AT 10PM, THERE IS A 5 MINUTE SWITCH-OFF TO PROTEST AGAINST THE ABUSIVE INCREASE IN OUR ENDESA BILLS.

Power cut in Jimena on Tuesday

Endesa announces that there will be a power cut on Calle Llana and Pasada de Alcalá next Tuesday, February 15 from 9am to 1pm. The reason: repairs and reconditioning at the supply transformer. (Thank you for telling us, Endesa...)

Further to the electricity cuts question...

(Via e-mail) "Further to the electricity cuts question. This is a photo of my castelete and my chimney,  my neighbour's tv aerial and castelete plus a small piece of the old San Pablo Adult Education building ... well we do live pretty near Africa. Louie". Comment, anyone? (Prospero note: we are very pleased that Louie has finally managed to get in touch with JimenaPulse - she'll know what we mean, bless. Also, we hadn't heard the word castelete, so we're happy to learn something new today in any language, always supposing she means those little 'buildings' at the top of the stairs that lead to a flat roof terrace. Then again, maybe we're just ignoramuses.)

PeAk aNd TrOuGhs in power supply

We are in the 21st century. Endesa demands we pay the same as everywhere else. Yet at the first sign of rain, out go the lights, snap back on,                       stop.                          Start. Why are the councils of small villages such as ours not banding together to demand proper infrastructure that doesn't date back to the 1950s? Is it because they owe the companies a lot of money? Endesa, which bought out Sevillana and was in turn bought out by the Italian company Enel, whose largest shareholder is reportedly Silvio Berlusconi (a quick Google search neither confirms nor denies this), operates throughout the world and continues to deliver great results year after year, surely has the obligation to provide a service that does no damage. (Note: This rant is offered as an excuse for not being able, or willing, to blog since Sunday for fear of damage to computers, etc.)

Endesa and your Certificado de Primera Ocupacion

IMPORTANT Some alarm went through the village when the Mayor's office announced that Endesa would be cutting off electricity to homes that do not have a Certificado de Primera Ocupacion. We have endeavoured to find out more on the subject. According to Endesa, there are many owners here and elsewhere who never obtained their 'normal' account with what was then Sevillana (taken over by Endesa a couple of years ago) and have continued to use 'building power' ever since, at a considerably lower rate. Most cases date back to 1998, '99 and 2000 or before that, though some are more recent. The Oficina Tecnica (Technical Office) at the Town Hall told us that notifications from Endesa about the Certificado de Primera Ocupacion come by registered mail addressed to the person in whose name the account and the meter are (this could be the previous owner, the architect, the builder, etc.). However, they pointed out that there have been several cases where the supply has been cut off and the meter removed without apparent notification, though possibly the notification was refused or not delivered. Documents to be presented to Oficina Tecnica:>

Council warns that Endesa could cut power to homes without 'licencia de primera ocupación'

Jimena Council is advising residents that Sevillana-Endesa, the electric company, is applying a new disciplinary regulation and cutting off power to homes that, although occupied, have not obtained a licencia de primera ocupación ('first occupation licence') and are still using building power (licenced only for construction work). The Council therefore advises anyone without the licence to obtain one before Endesa proceeds to cut them off. To do so, it is only necessary to get in touch with the Oficina Técnica Municipal (Technical Office) at the Town Hall, or with the author of the house's plans, in order to speed up obtaining the licence. Here's who can help if you don't have enough Spanish:

About changes in your electricity supply

Phil Markham, of Jimena Real Estate, sent this item he found online. There seems to be much confusion on the subject, which is not surprising as the electricity companies are none too clear. This item comes from a law office, details about which are at the bottom of the article. (JimenaPulse is not responsible for information contained therein.) Do I need to do anything? Contrary to an article that appeared in a local British paper your electricity bills will not increase by 20% if you fail to re-register with your existing electricity provider or sign a contract with a new one of your choice. Consumers who have contracted 10kw of power (factories, shops, businesses) have already been notified that they are obligated to move over to the free market and choose their preferred supplier as, in the future,>(See the complete article on CampoPulse; and please consider: When was the last time you made a donation to this site?)

Readers ask about an Endesa letter re your ICP

Several people have stopped Prospero in the street to ask about a letter they received from their electricity company, like the one here, our old friend Endesa. Why nobody has asked us online, we cannot fathom;  it's the kind of thing we are here for (what would you do without us?). Back to the letter. Our sponsors TheTranslationPeople have kindly translated it into comprehensible English, available below. If you have any questions, ever, please do not hesitate to contact us - we will do our best to help.>