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a blackout in Puerto Rico left nearly 1.3 million customers in the dark Tuesday as the U.S. territory began preparations to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and officials said it may take up to two days to restore power.
The Associated Press reported that the power went out at dawn, leaving the entire island silent as appliances and air conditioners were cut off before generators were turned on for those who could afford it.
Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of electricity, said almost 90% of 1.47 million customers in Puerto Rico were left in the dark.
The company also said the power outage was caused by a fault in an underground power line, and noted that it is restoring power “as quickly and safely as possible.”
A utility pole with loose wires towers over a home 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 power generation in Puerto Rico.
Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, who will take office on January 2, called for the creation of a “energy czar” to review possible contractual breaches by Luma while another operator is found.
“We cannot continue to depend on an energy system that fails our people,” he wrote in X, adding that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid would be his top priority in office.
The current governor Pedro Pierluisi also has his opinion on the matter, who said in a publication in X that he was in contact with Luma and Genera PR.
“We can report that work is already being carried out to restore service with 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 the generating units outside the failure area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island.”
The blackout forced several businesses, parks and shopping centers to close, and the government announced limited hours for some of its agencies.
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Business owners turn to their power generators to keep working during an island-wide blackout, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
While blackouts are rare in Puerto Rico, the island struggles with chronic power outages attributed to a crumbling power grid that was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.
At that time, however, the system was already in decline after years of neglect in terms of maintenance and investment.
It wasn’t until recently that crews began making permanent repairs to Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane Maria. The island still relies on generators provided by the US. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help stabilize the network.
Last month, the Puerto Rican government asked U.S. 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 largest of the island’s government agencies.
Oil-dependent power plants generate more than 60% of Puerto Rico’s energy, followed by natural gas and coal. Rooftop solar accounts for only about 7% of electricity consumption on an island with a poverty rate of over 40%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.