The Canary Islands have declared a state of alert today amid growing fears that basic supplies could be disrupted following the massive power outage that has crippled mainland Spain and parts of Portugal.
The move, announced by the Canary Islands’ Directorate General of Emergencies, sees the activation of the islands’ Territorial Civil Protection Emergency Plan (PLATECA), designed to monitor and respond to risks affecting essential services.
According to an official statement issued at 3:11pm today (Monday), with immediate effect from 3:15pm, the alert covers the entire archipelago. Authorities say the aim of the PLATECA activation is to guarantee close monitoring of any potential impacts on critical supplies, such as telecommunications, transport, or the delivery of essential goods.
The precaution comes after a major fluctuation in the European power grid triggered a blackout across much of Spain and Portugal earlier today, plunging millions into chaos.
Although the Canary Islands escaped direct power cuts thanks to their isolated energy system, knock-on effects have already been felt. Telecommunications services including Orange, MasMovil, DIGI and Yoigo have suffered outages, there have been delays on flights between Madrid and the islands, issues with Tenerife’s tram ticket validation systems, and a temporary crash of the 012 helpline — although the latter has now been partly restored.
Officials stressed that, for now, there are no widespread outages across the islands, but the situation is being closely monitored.
The Government of the Canary Islands urged the public to stay calm but warned that disruptions to communications, supplies of essential goods, or public services could occur if the situation on the mainland worsens, which is why they are maintaining a state of heightened vigilance for the foreseeable future.
