Lanzarote and La Graciosa hit by power outage and water supply risks

A major power outage affected approximately 73,600 customers across Lanzarote and La Graciosa, lasting from 5:44 AM to 7:13 AM. The failure originated at the Mácher substation in Tías and was compounded by subsequent faults at the San Bartolomé and Punta Grande substations. While electricity was restored within hours, the outage caused significant secondary issues by halting desalination plants, leading to potential water shortages and pressure drops in various municipalities.

Playa Blanca remained unaffected due to its connection to Fuerteventura. In response to the disruption of essential services, authorities activated the pre-alert status of the Canary Islands Civil Protection Territorial Emergency Plan (PLATECA) and the Lanzarote Insular Emergency Plan (PEIN).

President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, attributed the incident to obsolete electrical equipment and announced an investigation to clarify the causes. He emphasized the urgent need to renew energy infrastructure to prevent future occurrences.