Power Outage Hits Canary Island: La Palma Plunges into Darkness Due to Generator Malfunction - Emergency Plan Activated
Canary Islands experience power failure; emergency measures enacted by the administration.
On a gloomy Tuesday, June 10, 2025, the Spanish island of La Palma in the Atlantic plunged into darkness. The culprit? A faulty generator at the Los Guinchos power plant in eastern La Palma. As a result, a staggering 50,000 residents found themselves in the midst of an island-wide blackout[1][2][5].
The island's emergency services sprang into action, with the Canary Islands regional government activating an emergency plan. The power supplier, Endesa, confirmed the breakdown but remained tight-lipped about when power would be restored[2][3]. It's not the first time such an incident has occurred, as a power outage in late April 2025 left Spain and Portugal reeling.
The aftermath of the April power outage led to major traffic chaos and telecommunications systems failures. Fingers are crossed that the current situation on La Palma doesn't spin out of control in the same way.
Sources: ntv.de, afp
Enrichment Insights:- Redeia, the Spanish grid operator, estimated that by 7:10 p.m. on the same day, 6.2 megawatts of power were restored to the island[2][5].- The regional government's emergency plan emphasizes ongoing restoration efforts and coordination with national operators to stabilize the grid[2][3].- Although specific details about activated emergency procedures such as public alerts, emergency shelters, or community support have yet to be disclosed, authorities and travel advisories recommend residents and visitors carry portable chargers, keep emergency contacts offline, and limit emergency line usage[1][2].
- In light of the current power outage, the community is advised to follow the steps outlined in the regional government's emergency plan, which includes coordination with national operators for grid stabilization.
- As politics and general news unfold, the ongoing discussion in the community centers around the importance of vocational training for various industries, such as emergency services and vocational maintenance technicians, to mitigate the impacts of power outages in the future.
