NEW homeowners in Estepona are being left in the dark as the electricity grid buckles under the weight of the municipality’s massive property boom.
Mayor Jose Maria Garcia Urbano has warned that the state-run network is ‘unable to cope’ with the surge in demand from new residential developments.
More alarmingly, he revealed that many buyers eager to take possession of their new Costa del Sol asset are currently unable to move in because there is simply not enough power to switch the lights on.
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The town hall has now written an urgent letter to Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen demanding immediate action to prevent a housing paralysis.
Utility companies are struggling to absorb the ‘growing demand’, leading to severe delays in connecting new urbanisations to the grid.
Estepona has become a victim of its own success, with the population rocketing from 67,000 in 2011 to nearly 80,000 at the close of 2025.
But infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the rapid expansion, threatening to derail the local economy and the construction sector, with both private and public housing at risk of being affected.
Town hall officials warned that the crisis is not limited to Estepona but is spreading across Malaga province and major cities like Madrid.
Property developers and energy bosses have long sounded the alarm that the grid is nearing saturation point.
The council fears that without rapid government intervention, the shortage will exacerbate the housing crisis and block the delivery of much-needed affordable homes.
“We need measures that allow the electricity network to have the necessary capacity,” Urbano stated, calling for a guarantee of supply for future projects.
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