Blackout inside Puerto Rico left nearly 1.3 million customers in the dark Tuesday as the U.S. territory began preparations for New Year’s Eve celebrations, and officials said it could take up to two days to restore power.
The Associated Press reported that the power went out at dawn, sending the entire island into silence as electrical appliances and air conditioners were turned off before the generators of those who could afford them were turned on.
Luma Energy, the private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution, said nearly 90% of Puerto Rico’s 1.47 million customers were left in the dark.
The company also said the blackout was caused by a fault in an underground transmission line, noting that it was restoring power “in the fastest and safest way possible.”
A utility pole with loose cables hangs over a house in Loiza, Puerto Rico, on September 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo, File)
The blackout only fueled already simmering anger against Luma and Genera PR, the company that oversees Puerto Rico’s power generation.
Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, who will be sworn into office on January 2, called for creation “energy king” to review possible Lume contract violations until another operator is found.
“We cannot continue to rely on an energy system that is failing our people,” she wrote on X, adding that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid will be her top priority in office.
The current governor, Pedro Pierluisi, also declares that he is in contact with Luma and Genera PR in a post on X.
“We can report that work is already underway to restore service to the San Juan and Palo Seco plants,” he wrote. “We demand answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, who must expedite the restart of generating units outside the fault area and properly inform people of the measures they are taking to restore service across the Island.”
The outage forced several businesses, parks and malls to close, and the government announced limited schedules for some of its agencies.
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Business owners turn to their power generators to keep operating during an island-wide power outage, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
While power outages are rare in Puerto Rico, the island struggles with chronic power outages blamed on a crumbling power grid that was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.
At that time, the system was already in decline after years of neglect in terms of maintenance and investment.
Only recently did crews begin making permanent repairs to Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane Maria. The island is still dependent on generators provided by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) help stabilize the network.
Last month, the Puerto Rican government asked US officials for permission to continue using more than a dozen portable generators for another two years.
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Meanwhile, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is struggling to restructure more than $9 billion in debt, the island’s largest government agency.
Oil-fired power plants generate more than 60% of Puerto Rico’s energy, followed by natural gas and coal. Solar roofs account for only about 7% of electricity consumption on an island with a poverty rate of more than 40%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
