02.11.2026 15:11
The entire island of La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands was left without electricity due to a major failure in the electrical system. After the outage, which affected more than 50,000 customers, authorities issued an emergency alarm. On the island, where heavy rain and storms were also effective, work has begun to restore electricity, while the exact cause of the failure has not yet been determined.
La Palma, located in Spain's Canary Islands, faced a major power outage in the early morning hours of Monday, November 2.
A general failure in the electricity system at around 06:42 local time caused the power flow to stop across the entire island.
Authorities described the situation as a "zero energy" event, meaning the electricity grid was completely disabled.
MORE THAN 50,000 CUSTOMERS AFFECTED
According to a statement from the electricity distribution company Endesa, 50,508 customers were affected by the outage.
Following the problem in the island's electricity infrastructure, work was launched to bring the transmission lines and generation facilities back into operation.
Authorities announced that the exact cause of the outage has not yet been determined.
EMERGENCY ALERT ISSUED
The General Directorate of Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands activated the regional civil protection emergency plan PLATECA as of 07:30 local time following the power outage.
With the decision, an alarm status was declared across the entire island.
Authorities reported that the emergency plan was put into effect to ensure coordination among public institutions, monitor the effects of the power outage, and assess possible disruptions in essential services.
HEAVY RAINFALL AND STORM ALSO HAD AN EFFECT
During the hours of the power outage, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were effective in La Palma.
In the eastern parts of the island, 62 liters per square meter of rainfall were recorded in one hour, and 138 liters in 12 hours.
Authorities announced that as of 02:00, the highest level warning was issued for the region due to intense rainfall.
While investigations continue into whether there is a connection between the power outage and the storm, the exact cause of the failure has not yet been announced.
WORK STARTED TO RESTORE POWER
The electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica announced that work has begun to restore energy supply on the island.
Authorities stated that they are waiting for the Los Guinchos power generation facility to be reconnected to the system and announced that the goal is to restore power gradually as soon as possible. However, no exact time was shared regarding when the outage would be completely resolved.