Power Restored in La Palma Following Major Island-Wide Blackout

Electrical service was fully restored in La Palma on Monday following a nearly four-hour blackout caused by a severe electrical storm that forced the government to declare a maximum alert. The total outage, which is the seventh of its kind on the island since 2009, impacted 50,508 supply points and unfolded following two separate incidents during the early morning hours.

The first incident occurred at 4:10 a.m. local time when a lightning strike interrupted the island's only 66-kilovolt high-tension power line managed by Red Eléctrica, according to government sources. This initial failure cut power to approximately 17,600 customers and shut down the Valle substation on the western side of the island. While technicians managed to temporarily restore power to those affected by utilizing the medium-voltage distribution network by 5:40 a.m., the main high-tension line remained unavailable.

A second and broader failure struck at 6:38 a.m., when all generation groups at the Los Guinchos thermal power plant on the eastern side of the island failed, plunging the entire territory into darkness. The regional government stated that the incident coincided with the intense electrical storm, though the exact technical sequence behind the system collapse remains under investigation. Endesa and Red Eléctrica coordinated recovery efforts, overcoming initial startup problems in some generation units to fully restore service by 10:26 a.m.

Residents experienced a disruptive morning during a public holiday. Some locals reported that the violent storm featured exceptionally close lightning strikes and heavy rainfall, with precipitation reaching up to 110 liters per square meter in neighborhoods such as Miranda in Breña Alta. Despite the inconvenience of uncharged mobile phones and non-functional electric shutters, essential infrastructure like the local airport and the University Hospital of La Palma maintained operations using their own backup generators.

The vulnerability of La Palma's electrical grid has drawn broader political attention and criticism. Santiago Abascal, leader of the political party Vox, publicly denounced the situation on social media, criticizing what he termed the degradation of public services. Meanwhile, regional authorities and energy companies have long pointed to structural weaknesses, including the lack of a secondary high-tension transport line to the densely populated Valle de Aridane and a radial medium-voltage configuration that leaves certain areas without alternative power pathways.

Plans to address these structural issues include the construction of a new substation in Las Breñas and a second 66 kV line connecting to Valle de Aridane, a project whose administrative processing began in 2024. Furthermore, the regional government formally requested additional investment funds from the national ministry to reinforce vulnerable insular networks and build protective electrical rings across La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro.