Power Outage Affects Nearly All of Puerto Rico on New Year's Eve
Click to start listening
New York, Jan 1 (NationPress) A major blackout occurred, affecting almost all of Puerto Rico as the US territory prepared to ring in the New Year, resulting in more than 1.3 million individuals losing power, according to an official source.
"The outage struck at dawn, enveloping the island in a strange silence as electrical devices and air conditioners powered down before those with generators managed to turn them on," reported The Associated Press regarding the incident.
Nearly 90 percent of the 1.47 million clients across Puerto Rico found themselves in darkness, as stated by Luma Energy, a private firm responsible for electricity transmission and distribution, according to Xinhua news agency.
The company announced the initiation of emergency operations to restore power, describing the blackout as "systemwide," with restoration potentially taking up to two days.
"Puerto Rico has endured a series of blackouts since 2017, when Hurricane Maria caused extensive damage to the island, including its power infrastructure," noted The New York Times.
This blackout was considerably larger than those experienced over the summer. A blackout in June left around 350,000 customers without power, while in August, 700,000 were affected following Hurricane Ernesto.
By Tuesday evening, over 336,000 individuals, including 16 hospitals and Puerto Rico's water and sewer services, had their power restored, according to Luma. However, the company's website tracking remaining outages was down.
"We recognize the profound frustration this outage has caused, especially on such a significant day," Luma stated.
"We sincerely apologize for the disruption to your plans."
Governor-elect Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon, who is set to take office on January 2, has advocated for the establishment of an "energy czar" to investigate possible Luma contract violations while another operator is identified.
“We cannot continue to depend on an energy system that fails our citizens,” she wrote on social media platform X, emphasizing that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid would be her primary focus in office.
Meanwhile, Governor Pedro Pierluisi mentioned he was in contact with Luma and Genera PR, stating on X that "we are demanding answers and solutions."
US President Joe Biden conversed with Pierluisi on Tuesday evening regarding the power outage and offered federal support. Biden also communicated with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, instructing her to provide any assistance necessary to expedite power restoration on the island.
This outage resulted in businesses, parks, and several shopping centers closing, leading the government to announce limited hours for certain agencies. Workers were dispatched to check on numerous bedridden patients and distributed ice to help keep insulin cold for diabetics.
