Puerto Rico suffered the latest in a string of widespread power outages Tuesday that has left 1.3 million customers, some 80% of the entire island, in the dark.
More than 1 million energy customers were without power across the U.S. territory since 5:30 a.m. due to an infrastructure problem at a power plant on the island’s southern coast, energy company LUMA said in an update on X.
Around 1:30 p.m. local time, LUMA said in a statement that its initial efforts had restored power to about 3% of customers impacted, with restoration to 44,700 customers across the metro area and the island of Culebra.
Power was also restored to the critical Centro Medico and Municipal Hospital in San Juan.
Miosotis Corretjer, a San Juan resident, said the situation was “totally frustrating” and that the government wasn’t doing enough.
“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. “It’s sad that in this day, the last day of the year, that impacts our holiday traditions, our Navidad, everything is so sad for the people of Puerto Rico.”
LUMA said in an earlier statement that the fault appeared to be an underground cable and that it was working with partners to restart the island’s power network.
“LUMA will be restoring power to customers in phases. We’ve already begun the process of reenergizing some customers, with the full restoration process taking between 24 and 48 hours as conditions permit,” the company said.
Josué Colón, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, said in a radio interview that a problem with a power line in the south caused a “cascade effect” that led to multiple power plants failing. He said it would take “much of the day” to fix the problem.
Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said on X that he was in touch with LUMA and the private energy company Genera PR.
“We are demanding answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, who must expedite the restart of the generating units outside the fault area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island,” he said.
Puerto Rico’s incoming governor, Jenniffer González, said on social media that the island “can’t keep relying on an energy system that fails our people. Today’s blackout and the uncertainty around restoration continue to impact our economy and quality of life.”
González said that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s electrical grid will be her top priority as governor.
The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport said it was working on electricity generators but that flights were operating normally.
Puerto Rico’s electrical system had already been in decline when Category 4 Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017 and its power grid. The island continues to be beset by power outages as the fragile electric grid has not been permanently rebuilt since the storm razed it.
Power outages are a frustratingly frequent occurrence for many Puerto Ricans. A string of blackouts during the summer sparked protests and prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to declare a state of emergency.
Those protests led to the U.S.-owned Genera PR taking over management of previously state-owned power stations, which are on average 45 years old — twice the age of equivalent facilities on the U.S. mainland — and highly reliant on fossil fuels.
More than 700,000 customers were without power in Puerto Rico in August when Tropical Storm Ernesto hit the island.