Puerto Rico’s power grid collapses, leaving island in the dark
Cause of the grid collapse under investigation, as in-coming governor plans a task force to address frequent blackouts
Puerto Ricans were without electricity on New Year’s Eve after a grid failure left nearly all of the island without power, although energy was slowly being restored.
Around 58 per cent of clients were without power at 9pm on Tuesday, down from 90 per cent earlier in the day, according to the website of energy distribution company LUMA Energy. Puerto Rico has long dealt with chronic power outages as its infrastructure crumbles.
It will likely take 24 to 48 hours to turn the lights back on, LUMA said in a statement. It added later that power had been restored to some critical facilities, including Centro Medico and Municipal Hospital in San Juan.
“While the cause of the outage is under investigation, preliminary findings point to a failure in an underground line,” LUMA said.
Ivan Baez, a spokesperson for power generator Genera, said in a local radio interview that the line believed to have failed was operated by LUMA and brought down plants belonging to Genera, as well as private generators.
LUMA did not answer direct questions about responsibility for the power lines.
