Merchants on Sindicat Street in Palma report up to three power cuts in a single day. The lack of electricity supply, which they attribute to transformer overloads due to the heatwave, forces them to close and lose sales.
Merchants on Sindicat Street in Palma are living a recurring nightmare: for weeks they have been suffering constant power cuts that force them to close their businesses at the peak of the tourist season. Just last Friday, they claim there were up to three interruptions of the electricity service.
The situation has become unsustainable for the shop owners, who watch as sales vanish during the high season. Without lighting, air conditioning, or the ability to process card payments, many are forced to shut down for hours.
Xisca Salas, owner of the Blanc Mari store, recounts how the last few days went: “On Monday, around noon, I had to close. There was no air conditioning, I couldn’t take payments or work. On Thursday, the power went out at one and didn’t come back until seven or eight in the evening. And on Friday, it went out again around one. Those are lost hours when you can’t work.”
The affected parties suspect that the cause of the power cuts lies in the overload of the transformers in the area due to the high electricity consumption caused by the heatwave. Having not received an official explanation from the company, they have had to draw their own conclusions.
Salas also criticises the lack of information from the supplying company: “You call and they don’t give you any explanation. They only come to change the fuse, but they don’t solve the underlying problem. It’s a disaster. You don’t have the sales you should have, customers leave for other shops, and all of that amounts to losses.”
According to the merchants, more than a dozen establishments on Sindicat Street have been affected by these incidents. This situation adds to other recent electrical problems in Mallorca. Last weekend, a double fault in underground cables left more than 2,000 residents of Can Pastilla without power. Endesa mobilised seven generators and worked throughout the weekend to repair the issue, although some customers remained without supply until Sunday afternoon. The Can Pastilla Neighbourhood Association criticised the lack of information and denounced the consequences for residents and businesses, especially during the heatwave.
Sindicat Street was for decades one of the main commercial axes of Palma, bringing together around 120 establishments and attracting shoppers from across the island. However, in recent years, the street has undergone a transformation towards a model more focused on dining and international gastronomic offerings, with the arrival of franchises.
The merchants are now demanding a definitive solution that guarantees the stability of the electricity supply and prevents power cuts from continuing to affect the economic activity of one of the most emblematic streets in central Palma. In the meantime, traditional businesses are holding on as best they can, but the losses are piling up.
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