Puerto Rico is plunged into darkness after a power grid failure caused a power outage across much of the island.
The outage occurred early Tuesday morning, the last day of 2024.
Complete power outages are relatively rare on the island, but they have become more common and regular since Hurricane Maria devastated the power grid in 2017.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi sought to reassure the island of 3.2 million residents that power would be restored soon. He attributed the “major power outage” to a “major failure” in the power grid.
“We would like to inform you that work is already underway to restore service at our San Juan and Palo Seco factories. We want answers and solutions,” he wrote on social media.
The New Year’s Eve outage left about 1.27 million households without power, out of a total of 1.5 million customers, according to LUMA, the private energy company responsible for maintaining the power grid.
As of 11:45 a.m. local time (15:45 GMT), LUMA reported that only 13.5 percent of its clients had access to electricity.
In a social media post, the company said the outage initially appeared to be caused by an “underground line failure.” This caused an island-wide power outage at around 5:30 a.m. local time (9:30 GMT).
“The cause of the failure is still under investigation,” LUMA wrote in its post.
“We have already begun the recovery process for some customers and expect the entire process to take 24 to 48 hours, conditions permitting.”
Puerto Rico’s energy grid has long been a source of frustration for residents, even inspiring pop star Bad Bunny to write an ode to the island called “El Apagon,” or “Blackout.”
The Puerto Rican musician has been an outspoken critic of LUMA, a joint venture between Canadian and American companies.
Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) also weighed in on the New Year’s Eve power outage on his Instagram Story, writing, “This is how we spend New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico without electricity. Normal.”
LUMA took over Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), a government-run power company, in 2020 after the latter filed for bankruptcy.
However, LUMA itself has faced multiple protests amid concerns about the cost of its services and the nature of the company’s contracts with the government. Some say the terms are tilted in favor of LUMA, with few protections for everyday Puerto Ricans.
Governor-elect Jennifer González Colón, who will succeed Pierluigi on January 2, has indicated she would consider appointing an “energy czar” to review LUMA’s actions and consider other energy providers. .
Puerto Rico’s power grid crisis reached a breaking point when Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm, slammed into the island in 2017.
Not only was the storm the worst to hit Puerto Rico, it also destroyed the island’s aging power grid, creating even more life-threatening conditions. As a result, power outages have become chronic.
U.S. Representative Adriano Espaira of New York, a Dominican-American, cited the impact of Hurricane Maria while calling for reform.
“Since the devastating Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s energy grid has remained expensive, unstable, and unreliable, challenging Puerto Ricans in every way,” Espaillat wrote.
The United States considers Puerto Rico an unincorporated territory, and Espaillat called on outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden to do more to shore up the island’s deteriorating infrastructure.
“Despite the Biden administration allocating billions of dollars for reconstruction, much of that funding will go unutilized, leaving Puerto Rico once again facing darkness. Before it’s too late. Bold and immediate action is needed to address this crisis.”
But some residents who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday morning expressed resignation over the ongoing power outages.
“They are part of my daily life,” Enid Nuñez, 49, told the news agency over breakfast.
She was cooking meals on a gas stove that she had purchased specifically for such situations.
