The electricity supply has been fully restored in La Palma after the blackout that left the entire island without power during the morning of this Monday, November 2. The incident initially affected 50,508 customers, according to the data provided by Endesa, and triggered the activation of the emergency mechanisms of the Government of Canarias. The blackout coincided with a spell of torrential rain and electrical storms that keeps the island under a meteorological alert situation.
The general failure occurred at 06:38 hours, according to Endesa, although the General Directorate of Emergencies of the Canary Government placed the complete interruption at 06:42. The severity of the incident led the regional Executive to activate at 07:30 hours the Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection of Canarias (PLATECA), with the aim of coordinating the response of the administrations, evaluating the possible consequences on essential services and supervising the work to restore electricity.
The recovery has developed in stages, after the technical teams managed to get the necessary installations back into operation to supply the island. Red Eléctrica has repaired and put back into service the high-voltage line that had remained inoperative since 04:10 hours, while Endesa has proceeded to connect the generation groups of the Los Guinchos plant.
This is how the electricity supply has been restored in La Palma
The first restorations began after the technicians managed to couple several generation groups to the island grid. At 10:34 hours, Europa Press reported, citing Endesa, that 8,117 customers had already regained electricity, while another 42,391 continued to be affected. Shortly afterward, the company communicated that the supply had been restored in more than 40% of the supply points.
At 11:01 hours, the last contrasted public balance indicated that 29,502 customers were still without electricity, although the high-voltage line was already repaired and the generation groups had been reconnected. These actions allowed progress in the progressive recovery of the system until the complete restoration communicated later.
The restoration of a power outage requires reestablishing the operation of the generation facilities and recovering the balance between electricity produced and consumed. In island systems like that of La Palma, these maneuvers must be carried out in a coordinated manner to avoid new interruptions, since the grid does not have an electrical connection with other islands that would allow an immediate compensation for a general drop in supply.
What caused the blackout: a previous fault on the Guinchos-Valle line
Although electricity has already been restored, the exact origin of the power outage has still not been determined.Endesa had reported an incident recorded during the early hours on the Guinchos-Valle line, 66 kilovolts, managed by Red Eléctrica. This infrastructure constitutes the island’s only electric transmission line and had remained out of service since around four in the morning, before the general blackout occurred.
The incident coincided with a strong electrical storm, although the companies have still not confirmed whether the weather conditions were the direct cause of the failure. The technicians will have to analyze the system records to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine what caused the complete interruption.
La Palma already suffered another power outage on June 10, 2025, when an incident in generation left more than 50,000 users without electricity. That situation also forced the activation of emergency mechanisms and reopened the debate on the needs for modernization of the island’s electric infrastructure.
La Palma remains on maximum alert for torrential rains
The restoration of the electricity supply does not mean the end of the weather episode affecting La Palma. The island remains under the prevention measures adopted by the Government of Canarias in the face of intense rainfall and storms developing since early morning.
The General Directorate of Emergencies declared the maximum alert for rain on the eastern side of the island from 02:00 hours. During the following hours, accumulations of up to 62 liters per square meter in one hour and 138 liters in twelve hours were recorded, amounts that increase the risk of localized flooding, landslides, and sudden rises in ravines.
The authorities maintain the precautionary recommendations and ask to avoid unnecessary travel through flood-prone areas, as well as transit through channels and ravines where water may accumulate.
With the electrical supply restored, attention is now focused on clarifying the causes of the blackout and checking the stability of the grid, while the Government of Canarias continues monitoring the evolution of the rains and their possible effects on the island’s essential services.