Puerto Rico’s power grid collapsed on New Year’s Eve, leaving nearly half the island without electricity. The blackout began at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and affected about 90% of customers initially, but service was restored to hospitals and major facilities.
The cause is still under investigation, but LUMA Energy, the Canadian-American power company responsible for the grid, said an issue with an underground line was found. The company’s Emergency Operations Center is working to restore the electrical system as quickly as possible, expecting a full restoration in about a day or two.
President Joe Biden spoke with Governor Pedro Pierluisi on Tuesday to discuss the widespread outages and offer federal assistance. Residents expressed frustration with the government and institutions over the consistent power failures.
This outage is not an isolated incident for Puerto Rico’s power system, which has faltered multiple times due to its fragile and poorly-maintained grid. The island’s experience includes massive blackouts in 2017 after Hurricane Maria, with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency awarding $9.9 billion for permanent projects.
LUMA Energy took over management of the grid from the government-owned PREPA in 2021, but challenges persist. The power company’s inability to maintain a reliable system has led to outages caused by other hurricanes, such as Ernesto in August.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/31/us/puerto-rico-power-outage/index.html