Nearly a million people have been left without electricity after a major power outage in Tenerife.

The blackout affected the entire island, but emergency generators are working for basic services such as hospitals, a spokesman for the local government said.

Patricia Hernandez, the mayor of Tenerife's capital Santa Cruz, told Cadena SER radio that she expected power to be restored to most of the island within six hours.

She confirmed the island's tram system was currently not working and that Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica was investigating.

There have been no incidents immediately reported from the outage.


Dejected holidaymakers posted on Twitter about pubs and restaurants shutting because of the power cut, and said the street lights had also gone out in places.

Scott Waterhouse tweeted: "Last night in Tenerife and there's been a power cut. All bars and restaurants closed. Looks like it's ham and cheese toasty for tea."

Last night in Tenerife and there’s been a power cut. All bars and restaurants closed. Looks like it’s ham and cheese toasty for tea 🙄 — scott waterhouse (@scotty_w24) September 29, 2019

Power still out, and we're all just sat in total darkness because even street lights are now out haha. Bants 🙃🙃 #tenerife #powercut https://t.co/VoQBsdUlxh — shan✨ (@shannenhill) September 29, 2019

Shauna Golden said: "Of course I'm on holidays in Tenerife and the whole island is in a blackout with a power cut. Typical! All there is to do now is drink and play Uno by candlelight."

At 9pm UK time, another user posted: "Power still out, and we're all just sat in total darkness because even street lights are now out haha."

Tenerife is part of Spain's Canary Islands archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa.

A popular tourist destination, the islands have more than 900,000 residents in addition to hosting tens of thousands of tourists and scores of cruise ships each year.