A power outage in Puerto Rico left nearly 1.3 million customers in the dark on Tuesday as the US territory began preparations for New Year’s celebrations, and according to officials, it could take two days to restore power.
The Associated Press reported that the electricity went black early in the morning, and the entire island went silent when electrical equipment and air conditioners were cut off before generators were turned on from those who could afford them.
Luma Energy, the private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of electricity, said about 90% of Puerto Rico’s 1.47 million customers were left in the dark.
The company also attributed the outage to an underground power line failure, noting that it is restoring power “as quickly and safely as possible.”
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A utility pole with loose cables crosses over a home in Loiza, Puerto Rico, September 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo, File)
The blackout has fueled anger that has already erupted at Luma and Genera PR, the company that oversees Puerto Rico’s power generation.
Governor-elect Jennifer González Colón, who will be sworn in on Jan. 2, called for the creation of a “power master” to review possible violations of Luma’s contract while another operator is found.
“We cannot continue to rely on an energy system that is failing our people,” he wrote in X, adding that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s power grid would be a priority for him in office.
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The one who answers this issue is Gov. Current Pedro Pierluisi, who said on the X site that he is in contact with Luma and Genera PR.
“We can report that work has begun to restore utility at the San Juan and Palo Seco plants,” he wrote. “We want answers and solutions from LUMA and Genera, which must speed up the restart of generating units outside the fault zone and keep them properly informed about the measures they are taking to restore services to the whole island.”
The outage forced several businesses, parks and malls to close, and the government announced limited schedules for some of its facilities.
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Business owners turn to their generators to keep operating during an island-wide power outage, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
Although power outages are rare in Puerto Rico, the island suffers from chronic blackouts blamed on a deteriorating power grid that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane in September 2017.
By then, however, the system had already collapsed after years of neglect in terms of maintenance and investment.
It wasn’t until recently that crews began permanently repairing Puerto Rico’s power after Hurricane Maria. The island still depends on generators provided by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help stabilize the grid.
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, Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority is struggling to restructure more than $9 billion in debt, the largest of the island’s public utilities.
Petroleum-based power plants generate more than 60% of Puerto Rico’s energy, followed by natural gas and coal. Solar roofs account for about 7% of electricity consumption on an island with a poverty rate of over 40%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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