Puerto Rico power outage leaves almost entire island in dark

Jim Wyss, Bloomberg News on Dec 31, 2024

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Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power Tuesday after the fragile electricity grid collapsed, triggering an island-wide blackout.

The power outage started early Tuesday and, by midday, about 85% of Puerto Rico’s 1.4 million customers remained without electricity, according to Luma Energy, the private company that operates the system. Luma said power was being restored in some areas, including two hospitals in San Juan, but officials said it may take 24 to 48 hours to fully resume service.

“It was a major event,” Josue Colon, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, said in an interview with WKAQ radio.

The mass blackout is emblematic of the challenges awaiting Jenniffer Gonzalez. The 48-year-old politician is taking over as governor on Thursday and made energy stability her priority. She’s already formed a committee to investigate Luma and consider replacing it, while advocating for a greater reliance on natural gas for power generation.

“We cannot continue with an energy system that fails our people so much,” Gonzalez wrote on social media. “Events such as this morning’s blackout, and the uncertainty about when power will be restored, affect our economy and quality of life.”

Luma said initial indications suggest that a fault in an underground cable may have led to the outage, though the exact cause is still under investigation.

The company said it’s activated its Emergency Operations Center and is coordinating with power providers to restart the system in phases. Luma plans to provide updates every two hours via social media.

The U.S. territory has one of the most expensive and least reliable power systems in the nation, with frequent outages plaguing residents. Tuesday’s blackout was the most extensive since Hurricane Ernesto hit in August, leaving roughly half the island without power.

Efforts to modernize the power system have been slow, stoking anger among residents, whose daily lives are often disrupted.

Julio Romero, 59, who was delivering newspapers on the streets of San Juan on Tuesday, said he was worried about what the blackout could mean for New Year’s celebrations.

“If this continues on until tonight, then god save us, this will be total chaos,” he said. “What a way to end the year.”

—With assistance from Mark Chediak.