Massive blackout strikes La Palma leaving holidaymakers stranded and businesses in chaos as generator fails at aging Los Guinchos facility
A catastrophic power failure has thrown the Spanish holiday island of La Palma into chaos, leaving more than 50,000 residents and tourists in the dark for hours as the island’s creaking infrastructure buckled under pressure.
The dramatic blackout struck at 5:32pm on Tuesday, plunging 90% of the picturesque Canary Island into darkness and sparking fresh concerns about Spain’s deteriorating electrical grid – just weeks after a massive outage crippled the mainland.
Panic gripped the island as traffic lights failed, shops ground to a halt, and holidaymakers found themselves trapped in pitch-black hotel rooms and lifts. The culprit? A catastrophic generator failure at the Los Guinchos power plant in Breña Alta – a facility locals blast as “completely obsolete” after more than half a century in operation.
‘Like going back to the Stone Age’
For two terrifying hours, the island’s 80,000 residents – roughly the population of Carlisle – were left to cope without electricity as emergency services scrambled to restore power.
It was absolute chaos,” one British tourist told local media. The hotel went completely dark, the air conditioning stopped, and we couldn’t even charge our phones. It felt like we’d gone back to the Stone Age.”
The blackout affected major tourist hotspots including Santa Cruz de La Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane, Breña Alta, and Fuencaliente, with more than 20 towns losing power completely.
Shops were forced to close mid-sale, coffee machines died mid-brew, and mobile phone signals flickered out – leaving thousands unable to contact loved ones or emergency services.
Fury over ‘obsolete’ power plant
Local politicians have slammed the island’s aging infrastructure, with one official declaring: “We have a completely obsolete power plant that’s been around for more than 50 years.
The critic added: “La Palma is an island that wants to develop; it must aim to restructure its entire energy system, starting with the systems we currently have.”
The Los Guinchos facility, which supplies approximately 90% of the island’s electricity, has faced mounting criticism for its reliability issues. Shockingly, renewable energy accounts for less than 1% of La Palma’s electricity production – a statistic that has energy experts shaking their heads in disbelief.
Alberto Hernández, director-general of energy for the Canary Islands, revealed the regional government had already declared an energy emergency due to the outdated infrastructure, warning that improvements would take at least a year to implement.
Second blackout in weeks sparks fears
The timing couldn’t be worse – the La Palma blackout comes just six weeks after the devastating “2025 Iberian Peninsula Blackout” on April 28, which plunged millions across Spain and Portugal into darkness for up to 10 hours.
That catastrophic failure left commuters trapped on trains, businesses losing millions, and sparked a political firestorm with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez facing fierce criticism over the country’s crumbling electrical infrastructure.
While La Palma was spared during the April disaster, Tuesday’s blackout has left residents wondering: is this the new normal?
“It’s not just one freak event anymore. It’s starting to feel like a pattern,” one local business owner said, echoing the fears of many islanders.
Tourism industry on edge
The power failure couldn’t come at a worse time for La Palma’s crucial tourism sector. The island, famous for its volcanic landscapes and fresh produce including bananas, mangos, and avocados, relies heavily on visitors for its economic survival.
Hotels reported guests demanding refunds, restaurants were forced to throw away spoiled food, and tour operators faced a logistical nightmare as excursions ground to a halt.
Spain’s national grid operator, Redeia, began gradually restoring power by 7:10pm, having re-established 6.2 megawatts of electricity. By 8:12pm, officials claimed more than 50% of power had been restored, though many areas remained in darkness well into the evening.
Emergency response criticized
The island’s Security and Emergency Department took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to update anxious residents, while La Palma Island Council urged people to “remain calm” and avoid “overwhelming emergency services unless absolutely necessary.
But critics slammed the response as inadequate, with many pointing out that residents were told to conserve battery life on their mobile devices – their only lifeline during the crisis.
Energy company Endesa, Spain’s largest utility provider, blamed the outage on a “generation turbine trip” at Los Guinchos, while a notice on their outage map cryptically referred to “improvement works on the electrical grid” affecting supply.
Climate concerns mount
Experts warn that Spain’s increasing reliance on renewable energy sources like wind and solar – which provide unpredictable power generation – could lead to more frequent blackouts.
At a time when an increasing portion of electricity comes from unplanned production, we can unfortunately expect power outages to become more frequent and more extensive,” one energy analyst warned.
The La Palma blackout has reignited fierce debate about Spain’s energy strategy, with opposition politicians demanding urgent action to modernize the country’s aging power infrastructure before the next crisis strikes.
As investigations continue into the exact cause of Tuesday’s generator failure, one thing is clear: for the 50,000 people left in the dark on La Palma, patience is wearing thin.
The island may have its lights back on for now, but with summer approaching and tourist season in full swing, the question on everyone’s lips is: when will the next blackout strike?
