Madrid neighborhood, home to thousands including Roma, has fatally lacked electricity since 2020, Spain has now violated the European Social Charter

The ECSR has called on Spain to immediately provide access to electricity in Cañada Real Galiana. FEANTSA reported on the outcome in a press release.

In response to the collective complaint filed by the group of non-governmental organizations, the ECSR found that the situation, whereby people have long been subjected to interrupted access to electricity or have no access to it at all, places the residents in a situation of what is termed energy poverty, through which their fundamental human rights are violated. As it assessed the conditions in Cañada Real Galiana, where 54 % of the residents are Romani, the ECSR focused on the connection between access to energy and human rights in particular, the ERRC reports.

Significantly worse health for local residents

The human rights organizations’ complaint described in detail the harmful repercussions of this lack of electricity for the health of the inhabitants, for the intensification of their poverty and social exclusion, and which negative repercussions have specifically impacted the elderly, persons living with disabilities, local schoolchildren and women. About 4,500 persons are affected by this lack of electricity, of whom around 2,900 live in Sector 6 of the neighborhood, where the outage is permanent, and approximately 1,600 live in Sector 5, where the electricity supply is repeatedly interrupted.

Reports have shown a serious worsening of the health of the inhabitants since the start of the outages in October 2020 – burn injuries occurred, there were complications for treatments dependent on electrical connections (e.g. assisted breathing), difficulties with laundering clothing, difficulties with maintaining personal hygiene, difficulties with preserving medicines such as insulin, and respiratory difficulties were worsened by the lack of heating when temperatures fell. It took longer for the residents to recover from common diseases such as colds and flu.

Cases of comorbidities related to exposure to lower temperatures were documented which led to at least five deaths and several cases of carbon monoxide poisoning requiring acute hospital care.

Access to energy is part of the right to dignified housing

The ECSR reminded Spain that the rights recognized in the European Social Charter “must take a practical and effective, rather than a purely theoretical, form”. According to Article 31 para. 1 of the Charter, an adequate standard for housing means a place must be equipped with basic services such as electricity, heating, sanitation facilities, waste disposal and water; that it must be safe from the standpoint of health and hygiene; and that it must be secure both in terms of its construction and in terms of the legal support for the residents’ tenure, as well as that it not be overcrowded.

“… the Committee has made clear that it considers ‘stable, consistent and secure access to adequate energy’ a prerequisite for, and a key element of, enjoyment of the rights to housing, health, education, and protection against poverty and social exclusion under the European Social Charter. To be ‘adequate’ for the purposes of the Charter, energy must be affordable, clean and sustainable,“ the ERRC quoted from FEANTSA’s press release on the findings.

The ECSR also emphasized that problems of a technical nature cannot be exploited to justify denial of access to electricity. The right to adequate housing, according to the ECSR, also includes access to basic services and utilities.

In countries where the state has chosen to allow the distribution of electricity to be performed by private firms, that does not lessen the responsibility of the state to uphold human rights. “Guaranteeing Charter rights remains a state responsibility,” the ECSR said.

FEANTSA has called for the immediate restoration of electricity for the inhabitants of Cañada Real Galiana and reminded the Spanish Government of its obligations under the new EU Electricity Market Directive, which mandates protection against electricity disconnection for vulnerable customers. At the same time, the organization is demanding that electricity contracts be regularized for residents of the neighborhood; that a coordinated, participatory framework be set up for guaranteeing the provision of dignified living conditions and essential services; and an “acceleration of the relocation process with clear timelines and guarantees for residents’ rights and well-being.”