The Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, Mariano H. Zapata (Partido Popular), has assured that his department is carrying out a follow-up of the incidents to clarify their causes and determine possible responsibilities for the blackout suffered in Lanzarote on October 3rd.
Zapata explained that the Government of the Canary Islands requested information from Red Eléctrica and Endesa from the morning of the last incident, October 3rd, and that the reports were received last week. They are now being analyzed to determine if the blackout could have been avoided.
“We perfectly understand the anger of the people of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Being left without electricity is already serious, but when there are also incidents at the desalination plants and many families are left without water, the situation is even more worrying. We want to know what failed, why it failed, and who has to answer for it,” he stated.
As he explained, a breakdown in a cable at the Red Eléctrica substation in Mácher took the facility out of service and electrically separated Lanzarote from Fuerteventura. Subsequently, the system could not withstand the sharp drop in demand, and the incident occurred.
Concern about the situation in Fuerteventura
The minister also expressed his concern for Fuerteventura, which has a generation deficit of about 50 megawatts (MW), aggravated by the obsolescence of the units at the Las Salinas power plant. This situation increases the electrical dependence on Lanzarote and the vulnerability of the shared system. He also pointed out that “when renewable power is low, that problem is even worse.”
“The electrical problems of one island can affect the other. That is why it is important to reinforce generation and also the transmission networks to guarantee a more secure supply in both,” he affirmed.
In this regard, he recalled that “the ministry is finalizing the works for the two emergency plants on the island, located in Puerto del Rosario, to provide coverage for Fuerteventura's deficit. “If these two plants had been operational, we would not be talking about any blackout on the island today,” he assured.
"Urgent" infrastructure for Lanzarote
On the other hand, Zapata also insisted on the need to complete the last section of the Mácher-Playa Blanca line, pending burial as it passes through Yaiza. He recalled that Playa Blanca was able to maintain supply during the blackout thanks to its connection with Fuerteventura, an alternative that the rest of Lanzarote lacks.
“It is the most urgent work in Lanzarote and it has been stopped for too long. The Government of the Canary Islands has reserved a budget to co-finance the burial and would be ready to provide it as soon as it is unblocked. We need all the involved administrations to take the step,” he stressed.
Finally, he recalled that the regional Executive has promoted the inclusion of the north-south electrical corridor of Lanzarote in the new state planning, with the aim of reinforcing the network and preventing the island from depending on a single supply route.
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