Fuerteventura’s power shortfall leaves island vulnerable, Canary Islands minister warns
Mariano H. Zapata says Fuerteventura faces a generation shortfall of around 50 MW as officials examine the causes of an October blackout.
Fuerteventura has an electricity generation shortfall of around 50 megawatts, increasing the vulnerability of its shared power system with Lanzarote, the Canary Islands’ energy minister has warned.
Mariano H. Zapata told the Canary Islands Parliament on 10 November that the shortfall was made worse by ageing generating units at the Las Salinas power station. He said the problem became more acute when renewable generation was low.
His comments came as his department examines reports into an electricity incident on 3 October that affected Lanzarote and La Graciosa. Zapata said officials were seeking to establish what caused the blackout, whether it could have been avoided and who might bear responsibility.
Emergency plants in Puerto del Rosario
Zapata said work on two emergency power plants in Puerto del Rosario was being finalised to help cover Fuerteventura’s generation deficit. He maintained that, had both plants been operating, the island would not have suffered a blackout.
The minister said electricity problems on either island could affect the other, making it important to strengthen both generation and transmission networks.
Investigation and Lanzarote connections
The Canary Islands Government requested information from grid operator Red Eléctrica and electricity company Endesa on the morning of the 3 October incident, Zapata said. The reports were received the previous week and are being analysed.
He explained that a cable fault at Red Eléctrica’s Mácher substation put the installation out of service and electrically separated Lanzarote from Fuerteventura. The system was then unable to withstand the sudden drop in demand, he said.
Zapata also raised concern about the effect of power failures on desalination plants, noting that some families had been left without water.
In Lanzarote, he called for the final section of the Mácher–Playa Blanca line to be completed, with underground work still pending where it passes through Yaiza. He said Playa Blanca maintained its supply during the blackout through its connection to Fuerteventura, an alternative unavailable to the rest of Lanzarote.
The minister said the regional government had set aside money to help fund the underground work once the project was unblocked. He added that it had also sought the inclusion of a north–south electricity corridor for Lanzarote in the new national infrastructure plan.