Puerto Rico Suffers Widespread Power Outage, Leaving 1.3 Million Customers in the Dark
A major power outage has struck Puerto Rico, leaving approximately 1.3 million customers, about 80% of the island’s electricity customers, without power. The outage was caused by an infrastructure problem at a power plant on the island’s southern coast, energy company LUMA announced in an update.
As of 1:30 pm local time, LUMA reported that it had restored power to about 3% of customers, with an additional 44,700 customers in the metro area and the island of Culebra also regaining electricity. Power was also restored to the critical Centro Medico and Municipal Hospital in San Juan.
The outage has caused frustration among residents, with Miosotis Corretjer, a San Juan resident, calling the situation “totally frustrating” and stating that the government is not doing enough to address the issue. “The people say that we don’t want LUMA because it’s the worst service of electricity that we have in the history of our country,” she said.
LUMA reported that the fault was caused by an underground cable and that it is working with partners to restart the island’s power network. The company stated that it will be restoring power to customers in phases, with the full restoration process taking between 24 and 48 hours, depending on conditions.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Pedro Pierluisi and incoming governor Jenniffer González have both spoken out about the issue, with Governor Pierluisi demanding answers and solutions from LUMA and private energy company Genera PR, and incoming Governor González stating that stabilizing the island’s electrical grid will be her top priority.
