What does the power cut mean for visitors and residents?

All of La Palma has been without power since the early morning of 2 November, in the north and the south. Última Hora reports 50,508 connections affected.

No authority or company has named a time for the power's return. In the early morning the island was in the phase before restoration (pre-reposición), according to Libertad Digital and Última Hora.

That means the grid operator Endesa was waiting for the power plant units to start and for instructions from Red Eléctrica de España (REE, the operator of the national grid). An island with its own grid has to bring generation and lines back step by step, and a flick of a switch is not enough.

The local broadcaster El Faro de La Palma advises using the 112 emergency number for emergencies only. For general information, people should use 012.

El Faro de La Palma also advises saving phone battery and taking care at traffic lights, because the rain makes conditions worse. Anyone on the road should watch for messages from the Gobierno de Canarias (regional government), the Cabildo (island government) and the town halls.

When did the power go out, and what does the emergency plan trigger?

The outage began in the early hours of Monday 2 November 2026. Última Hora and Libertad Digital give 06:38 and El Faro de La Palma gives 06:42, so the exact time remains unclear.

The Dirección General de Emergencias (emergency authority) of the Gobierno de Canarias declared the alert level for the whole island. El Faro de La Palma says this happened at 07:30, while Última Hora links the declaration to 06:42.

The basis is Plateca, the Canary Islands' regional civil protection emergency plan. The alert level is the second-lowest level of the plan after Prealerta, and it is not a full emergency.

According to the reports, the aim is to coordinate the authorities and monitor essential services. The media have not said which services are affected.

What is known about the cause?

The official cause is unknown, Última Hora writes. No statement from Endesa, REE or the Gobierno de Canarias was available by the morning.

The reports point to the weather and an earlier fault. The island was under the highest warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms, and Última Hora says the outage came in the middle of a strong storm.

The 66 kV Guinchos–Valle line had already been out of service since an earlier incident during the night. Última Hora calls it the island's only power transmission line, and according to Libertad Digital REE operates it.

So it is not proven whether the storm or the line failure triggered the collapse. According to Libertad Digital, reconnecting the Los Guinchos power plant has priority.

How often has the power failed on La Palma before?

A total blackout began at 17:32 on 10 June 2025 and hit 50,289 connections. Endesa then blamed the failure of a generating turbine.

According to Voz Pópuli, about 70% of customers were back on the grid by 19:30. The broadcaster RTVC reported that Endesa fully restored supply in under three hours.

Faults had already struck in May 2025. On 8 May 19,526 users were affected, according to Voz Pópuli, and on 15 May RTVC reported two outages hitting around 20,000 people, while Voz Pópuli counts the June blackout as the sixth of 2025.

After the May outages, the Canary Islands minister for ecological transition, Mariano Hernández Zapata, announced inspections. REE denied that the Los Guinchos substation was the origin, and REE and Endesa then publicly blamed each other.

Who is responsible for the power plant and the grid?

Endesa operates the Los Guinchos thermal power plant. RTVC calls it the oldest in the Canary Islands, with units more than 25 years old and some more than 50.

According to Voz Pópuli and The Objective, there is hardly any storage or reserve outside the plant. The plant therefore carries the island grid largely alone.

The ecological transition ministry in Madrid (MITECO) decides on new generation through a tender. According to Endesa, the renewal law dates from 2013, but the tender only came in 2024.

By its own account, Endesa was the only bidder for La Palma. The tender covers the replacement of seven engines, and the source gives no cost or capacity.

The grid itself also suffered in the 2021 Tajogaite volcanic eruption, which destroyed the power ring between north and south. The Endesa subsidiary e-distribución rebuilt it, and in May 2024 smartgridsinfo.es reported about 90% progress.

What is still unknown?

Still unknown are the time the power will return and the number of connections already restored. There is also no information on flights, ferries, schools, hospitals, water supply and roads.

Nothing turned up on compensation or consumer rights either. A headline from The Objective says the central government is on alert over the outage and the storms in the Canary Islands, but the page would not open.

An official investigation into this event is not confirmed. After the 2025 outages the Canary Islands ministry opened an inspection and did not rule out sanctions for negligence, and RTVC reported no outcome.