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La Palma Blackout: Over 50,000 Lose Power in Spain Storm — AI-generated representative image of a rain-soaked street on La Palma during the island-wide power outage following the storm.

Editorial Team

Lightning strike and plant failure trigger island-wide outage as torrential rain hits the Canary Islands

More than 50,000 people on the Spanish island of La Palma lost electricity on Monday after a lightning strike and a subsequent power plant failure triggered an island-wide blackout amid torrential rain. The Canary Islands government said the island lost power at 6.42 am local time, with restoration reaching roughly 75% of those affected by midmorning, according to national grid operator Red Electrica.

The outage coincided with the regional government's highest rainfall alert for eastern La Palma, compounding risks for residents as emergency crews dealt with storm-related incidents including a house fire and landslides. Critical facilities such as the port, airport and two hospitals continued operating on backup power, underscoring the resilience measures in place during severe weather.

Sequence of the Outage

A lightning strike hit an electrical substation around 4 am, sparking a fire that knocked out medium- and low-voltage lines. Although service was initially restored, a subsequent failure at the Los Guinchos power plant triggered the island-wide outage. The cause of the disconnection remained unclear, officials said.

The regional government issued its highest rainfall alert for eastern La Palma at 2 am.
Emergency officials recorded 62 millimeters (2.4 inches) of rain in one hour and 138 millimeters (5.4 inches) over 12 hours.
Firefighters responded to a storm-related house fire, while landslides were reported, though less severe than anticipated, according to Spanish broadcaster Cadena SER.
An orange alert for heavy rainfall remained in effect until Tuesday morning.

Background and Recent Grid History

The Canary Islands were unaffected by the April 2025 blackout that left mainland Spain and Portugal without electricity for around 10 hours. That earlier incident prompted significant scrutiny of the Iberian grid's reliability.

A European expert panel concluded in March that the 2025 outage resulted from multiple factors, including failures in voltage control that caused generators to disconnect in succession. Monday's event on La Palma, while smaller in scale, has renewed attention on the vulnerability of island power infrastructure during extreme weather.

Official Response and Infrastructure Status

The island's port, airport, General Hospital and Hospital de Dolores continued operating on backup power throughout the outage, allowing essential services to function despite the widespread disruption. National grid operator Red Electrica reported that restoration reached about 75% of affected customers roughly four and a half hours after the outage began.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the precise cause of the failure at the Los Guinchos power plant, and investigations into the sequence of events remain ongoing.

Current Status and What Comes Next

Power restoration efforts were continuing Monday as crews worked to reconnect the remaining affected customers. The orange alert for heavy rainfall remained in effect until Tuesday morning, with officials monitoring conditions in eastern La Palma. Additional information on the root cause of the power plant failure is awaited as investigations proceed.