Canary Islands strengthen power grid with new Tenerife‑La Gomera submarine link

Red Eléctrica, a subsidiary of Redeia, has spent nearly €1.8 billion since 2011 to modernise the electricity networks of the Canary Islands. The investment has raised network availability to over 98 % and lifted renewable capacity from about 23 % in 2021 to almost 30 % by 2025, while the share of demand met by renewables rose to roughly 21 %.

A key element of the upgrade is the July‑commissioned 66 kV, 36‑km double‑circuit submarine cable that connects the Tenerife substation at Chío with the La Gomera substation at El Palmar. The link, funded partly by EU NextGeneration EU recovery funds and costing €177.5 million, creates a unified subsystems for the two islands, allowing bidirectional power flow, greater renewable integration on La Gomera, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Together with existing interconnections to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the network now forms a more resilient, cooperative electric system across the archipelago.