A fire at the El Palmar thermal power plant, in San Sebastián de La Gomera, has caused an energy zero that has left the inhabitants of the island without electricity since 03:00, as reported by the Cabildo.
Endesa is currently working to restore supply and both the Hospital Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe and the port of San Sebastián and the airport are operating normally through auxiliary engines.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has also reported that he is already in contact with the Cabildo, with the State Government and with the supply company, and is monitoring the work that cleans the electricity supply. Fernando Clavijo has clarified that, despite zero energy, essential public services on the island that function normally are guaranteed. Thus, it is estimated that at the moment just over 22,000 people are without electricity.
Endesa works to solve the problem
The Endesa technicians estimate that, “in the best scenario”, two of the groups of the El Palmar plant could be reconnected late this Sunday, which would recover 6 of the 20 megawatts of the plant and would cover two thirds of the expected demand these days (9 megawatts) in La Gomera.
Endesa collects generator sets from other islands to replace the rest of La Gomera, some of which have been connected and others will arrive in the next few hours from Tenerife. The electricity supply is guaranteed in all the essential services of the island and the concern is focused on knowing at what time the population will have power, the president of the Cabildo of this island, Casimiro Curbelo, told EFE.
All the Canary Islands are isolated electrical systems, except Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, which are interconnected. This means that if one of them suffers a breakdown that affects its generation systems, it cannot be supplied from another. In March, Red Electrica de España began works to connect the La Gomera network with that of Tenerife, with an underwater cable that is expected to come into service in 2025.
