A widespread power failure impacted 90% of Puerto Rico’s population, disrupting vital services.
A massive blackout engulfed nearly all of Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve, plunging over 1.3 million homes into darkness as the territory prepared for celebrations. The electricity transmission and distribution company projected that full power restoration could take up to two days.
The outage, beginning at dawn, shut down electrical appliances and air conditioners for about 90% of residents. By late afternoon, power was reportedly restored to roughly 194,000 customers, including hospitals and the island’s water and sewer authority. However, the website tracking outages and affected areas was unavailable.
The blackout has fueled public anger towards Luma Energy and Genera PR, the companies managing power generation. Luma attributed the outage to a probable underground power line failure and stated it’s working to restore power “as quickly and safely as possible.”
Governor-elect Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, who takes office on January 2, advocated for an “energy czar” to investigate potential contractual violations by Luma and explore alternative operators.
“We cannot continue to depend on an energy system that lets our people down,” she posted on social media, emphasizing her commitment to stabilizing Puerto Rico’s power grid as her top priority.
Incumbent Governor Pedro Pierluisi reported contacting Luma and Genera PR, demanding explanations and solutions. President Joe Biden received a briefing on the outage, and US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm offered federal support.
The blackout forced closures of businesses and shopping malls, while the government announced modified schedules for some agencies. Luis Munoz Marin International Airport remained open, utilizing backup generators. While most hotels had generators, short-term rental properties lacking them reported cancellations. Discover Puerto Rico, a tourism promotion organization, alerted travelers about the outage and advised cruise ship passengers to contact their tour operators directly.
Power outages are a recurring problem in Puerto Rico, with the electrical grid still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Years of neglect and underinvestment had already weakened the system. Around 60% of Puerto Rico’s electricity comes from petroleum-fired power plants, followed by natural gas and coal, while solar power accounts for only about 7%.
Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority is also grappling with restructuring over $9 billion in debt, even as the island relies on generators supplied by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stabilize the grid.