The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has officially announced the annual investment remuneration (CIn) payments for Category A power plants located in the non-peninsular territories. This ministerial provision directly injects accounting stability into the Barranco de Tirajana thermal power plant in southern Gran Canaria. The breakdown of the annual investment remuneration (CIn) payment for 2026 at the Barranco de Tirajana plant allocates €2.681.159 to the Barranco de Tirajana 3 (Steam 1) unit and €2.642.030 to the Barranco de Tirajana 4 (Steam 2) unit, while the components of Combined Cycle 1 receive €3.506.122 for Barranco de Tirajana 5 (Gas 3), €3.523.691 for Barranco de Tirajana 6 (Gas 4), and 3.771.165 euros for Barranco de Tirajana 7 (Steam 3); meanwhile, Combined Cycle 2 concentrates the largest amounts of the southern plant with 4.148.969 euros allocated to Barranco de Tirajana 8 (Gas 5), 4.213.321 euros to Barranco de Tirajana 9 (Gas 6) and a maximum of 4.789.736 euros for the Barranco de Tirajana 10 group (Steam 4).
This complex, considered the true energy engine of Gran Canaria and guarantor of the electricity supply for all the accommodation, commercial, and residential buildings in the southern tourist area, has had its economic flows recognized to amortize its critical facilities. The resolution establishes these values at a particularly sensitive time for the archipelago, given the need to ensure backup power generation while massive energy storage projects and the penetration of renewable energies in the island environment are being processed. The resolution also establishes profitability and safeguards the combined cycle power plants at El Matorral.
The regulatory text published under reference BOE-A-2026-10652 articulates the payments based on Royal Decree 738/2015, recognizing a double remuneration structure that includes both the amortization of assets and the financial remuneration of investments made by the operators.
The major sectoral change lies in the establishment of the financial return rate, which is set at 6,58% for the entire third regulatory period, from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2031, with the aim of protecting isolated systems from the volatility of international capital markets. The resolution's annex details the allocations for each of the generating units operating at the Barranco de Tirajana plant, differentiating between the end of the regulatory useful life of older technologies and the performance of combined cycle infrastructure. While the historic gas turbine units 1 and 2, as well as the diesel units at the northern Jinámar plant, are already listed with zero allocation, having completed their official amortization cycle, the more efficient facilities in the south will receive the bulk of the ministerial funding for 2026.
The economic breakdown highlights the system's dependence on the two combined cycle power plants located off the coast of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. Combined Cycle 2, comprising gas turbine units 5 and 6 along with steam turbine 4, accounts for over €13,1 million in investment returns for the current fiscal year, making it the asset with the strongest financial backing in the Gran Canaria electricity system.
The publication of these final figures provides certainty to the economic planning of the system operator and the generating companies, which had requested an update to the remuneration parameters to cover the necessary technical maintenance investments at El Matorral. The stability of the electricity supply in southern Gran Canaria is vital to sustaining the activity of a constantly modernizing hotel and industrial sector, which experiences peak demand linked to air conditioning and the high-end services that define the island's premium tourism industry.
The resolution signed by Director General Manuel García Hernández exhausts the ordinary administrative process, opening a one-month period for filing appeals with the Secretary of State for Energy. However, technical sector sources consulted rule out significant litigation on this matter, given that the calculation criteria respect the vested rights established in Order ITC/914/2006 for plants built before the 2015 regulatory change. The guaranteed capital flow for Barranco de Tirajana allays short-term concerns about a coverage deficit in the south, safeguarding the plant's operations and preventing blackouts in Gran Canaria's main economic engine.
