“We are demanding answers and solutions from both Luma and Genera, who must expedite the restart of the generating units outside the fault area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Tuesday. Photo Provided By Enid Salgado Mercado/EPA-EFE
More than 1 million people on Tuesday were without electricity in Puerto Rico after a major power outage hit the island, according to official reports.
More than 80% of Puerto Rico, some 1.3 million customers, was left with no power since about 5:30 a.m. early Tuesday morning in the latest in a series of widespread blackouts hours before the new year, the energy company Luma said on X. Advertisement
It could be up to 48 hours for power to be fully restored “as conditions permit,” it said.
“Luma will be restoring power to customers in phases. We’ve already begun the process of reenergizing some customers,” the company wrote.
Only 14% of Puerto Rico’s 1.4 million utility customers had power as of 9:15 a.m. local time, according to Luma Energy’s tracking page. Shortly after before 11 a.m. Luma said service had been restored in “some areas.” Advertisement
Luma said it has activated its emergency operations center and will provide “regular updates” every two hours.
“The Medical Center and the Municipal Hospital of San Juan are already in service,” the company said in its update. “Culebra is also in service with Genera generators.”
The cause is still under investigation but early indicators point to an underground power line, officials added.
“We are demanding answers and solutions from both Luma and Genera, who must expedite the restart of the generating units outside the fault area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi stated on social media, adding he was in contact with Luma and the private energy company Genera PR.
Puerto Rico’s electrical grid suffered a failure in November 2017 that left thousands without power after Hurricane Maria. And the entire island was left without power when Hurricane Fiona arrived in September 2022.
The Luis Munoz Marin International Airport said flights were operating normally as officials worked on electric generators.
The power line in the southern part of the U.S. commonwealth island caused a “cascade effect” that led to failure of multiple power plants, which will take “much of the day” to fix, Jose Colon, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, said during a radio interview. Advertisement
For Puerto Ricans this is not a new occurrence with more than 700,000 in August likewise left with no power after tropical storm Ernesto hit.
Protests were seen in San Juan over the summer due to growing anger over Puerto Rico’s frail power grid which prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to declare a state of emergency in the territory’s capital city.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration committed billions of dollars over the last few years to aid the island’s transition to renewable energy as a means to address its ongoing power woes.
The U.S. Energy Department announced in October a more than $860M private loan guarantee for construction of solar and battery storage facilities to move the island one step closer to its 2050 energy independent goal amid a slow, global transition to clean energy like other places such as Hawaii and California.
This was followed in November by $440 million to equip vulnerable homes with rooftop solar and battery systems estimated to lower energy bills for between 30,000 and 40,000 low-income, single-family households in Puerto Rico to improve household energy resilience and keep lights on during extreme weather events, according to the Energy Department.
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