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La Voz Canaria

One Year Since the Peninsular Blackout That Affected Canarian Telecoms

A year ago, a massive power outage in the Iberian Peninsula caused collateral damage in the Canary Islands, primarily impacting mobile phone and internet networks.

Generic image of an electrical or telecommunications network with disruptions.
IA

Generic image of an electrical or telecommunications network with disruptions.

A year ago, a massive power outage in the Iberian Peninsula left a large part of the territory without electricity, but the Canary Islands, although spared from direct power cuts, suffered significant disruptions to their telecommunications networks.

On April 28, 2025, the Iberian Peninsula experienced an electrical collapse that disconnected almost 60% of its generation in just five seconds. Despite the magnitude of the event, the Canary Islands, along with Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, did not suffer direct cuts in electricity supply.
The main reason for this exception lies in the nature of non-peninsular electrical systems, which are smaller and have reduced or no connectivity with the peninsular grid, according to information from Red Eléctrica. In the Canary Islands, the system is composed of six smaller subsystems, one for each island, with Lanzarote and Fuerteventura being interconnected.
However, the peninsular blackout did have a significant impact on the archipelago, manifesting as a widespread failure of telecommunications systems. From midday that Monday, services such as the regional government's 012 suffered interruptions, and from 8:30 PM, connection problems extended to mobile and fixed internet, as well as calls, affecting several companies and persisting even the next day.
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"Non-peninsular electrical systems are smaller and have reduced or no connectivity with the peninsular one."

Red Eléctrica · Spanish electrical system operator
Given the massive interruption of essential communication services, the regional government activated the emergency level of the Canary Islands Civil Protection Territorial Emergency Plan (PLATECA) at 10:30 PM. Simultaneously, the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council activated its Municipal Emergency Plan (PEMULPA). The situation prevented citizens from contacting the Emergency and Security Coordinating Center (CECOES) 1-1-2 for three hours.
The coincidence of this event with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) of six electricity generation projects for critical situations in the archipelago highlights concerns about the fragility of the Canarian grid. A report by Red Eléctrica described the situation of the Canarian electrical system as “critical” for meeting demand, especially in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, due to the age of many power plants.
The operator recommended the urgent installation of at least 1,300 megawatts (MW) of thermal power by 2028, prioritizing equipment that offers flexibility, with fast start-ups and shutdowns, and autonomous start-up capability. Recently, the Ministry for Ecological Transition awarded over 1,000 MW of electricity generation in the Canary Islands, distributed across 62 projects, of which 25 are new installations.

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