Massive power outage leaves half of Puerto Rico without electricity on New Year's Day. Millions affected, restoration efforts underway.
Approximately half of Puerto Rico is commencing the new year devoid of electricity following a substantial power disruption.
Puerto Rico experienced the latest instance in a succession of extensive power interruptions on Tuesday, which at a certain juncture encompassed nearly 1.3 million commercial or residential units — the majority of the island — in darkness.
An infrastructural issue at a power-generating installation on the island's southward coast resulted in over 1 million energy consumers without power throughout the U.S. territory at 5:30 a.m., as stated by the energy corporation Luma in an update on X Tuesday morning.
Miosotis Corretjer, an inhabitant of San Juan, stated that the circumstances were “totally frustrating” and that the administration was not performing adequately.
“The inhabitants express that they do not desire Luma because it constitutes the most deficient electrical service that we have experienced in the history of our nation,” she stated. “It is disheartening that during this period, the final day of the year, this affects our holiday customs, our Navidad; everything is exceedingly disheartening for the inhabitants of Puerto Rico.”
Subsequently on Tuesday, Luma announced that electricity for in excess of 700,000 consumers had been reinstated, equating to a return of power for almost half of the consumers who had been without electricity.
"Essential installations, encompassing over 16 hospitals, such as the Naguabo Hospital, and indispensable infrastructure, such as the Super Aqueduct and other Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority installments, have been re-energized," it stated in a previous update Tuesday evening.
Luma continued, "Our personnel persist in their efforts towards complete reinstatement."
The announcement constituted one of numerous updates informing Puerto Ricans that power was being reinstated, albeit frequently in modest increments.
Luma stated in a previous declaration that the malfunction seemed to involve a subterranean cable and that it was collaborating with collaborators to recommence the island's power network.
"LUMA will be reinstating power to consumers in stages. We’ve already commenced the process of re-supplying power to certain consumers, with the complete reinstatement process requiring between 24 and 48 hours as conditions allow," the corporation stated.
Josué Colón, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the governmental entity that manages the network for 1.5 million consumers in collaboration with Luma, stated in a radio interview that an issue with a power line in the south precipitated a "cascade effect" that resulted in multiple power-generating installations malfunctioning. He stated that it would necessitate "much of the day" to rectify the issue.
Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi stated on X that he was maintaining communication with Luma and the non-governmental energy corporation Genera PR.
"We are insisting upon responses and resolutions from both Luma and Genera, who must accelerate the recommencement of the generating units outside the fault area and ensure the populace is duly apprised regarding the actions they are undertaking to reinstate service throughout the Island," he stated.
Puerto Rico’s prospective governor, Jenniffer González, stated on digital media that the island “cannot persist in depending on an energy system that malfunctions for our inhabitants. Today’s power loss and the indecision surrounding reinstatement continue to affect our economy and quality of life.”
González stated that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s electrical network will constitute her paramount concern as governor.
The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport stated that it was functioning on electricity generating sets but that aerial transport was operating customarily.
Puerto Rico’s power system had previously been experiencing deterioration when Category 4 Hurricane Maria ravaged the island in 2017 and its power network. The island nonetheless is plagued by power interruptions as the vulnerable power network has not been indefinitely reconstructed since the cyclone razed it.
In 2020, the administration selected Luma, a collaborative effort between Atco, based in Calgary, Alberta, and Quanta Services Inc. of Houston, to cater to its electricity consumers in collaboration with the state power authority. It commenced operations in Puerto Rico in 2021.
Power interruptions are nonetheless a vexingly recurring event for numerous Puerto Ricans. A succession of power losses during the summer precipitated demonstrations and prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to proclaim a condition of exigency.
In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James advocated for a national inquiry of Luma.
"Five years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria inflicted disruption upon Puerto Rico, and after billions of national dollars were allocated to enhance and fortify the island’s power network, inhabitants continue to undergo frequent outages and elevated electrical tariffs," James' office stated that year.
Consumers were subjected to seven tariff increases in 2022. Puerto Ricans already remit more than double what mainland American consumers do for a typical electricity bill.
In 2023, Luma stated it diminished outage frequency by 30% in a year's duration and initiated 251 nationally funded initiatives to reconstruct the patched-up network.
Nonetheless, those demonstrations led to the U.S.-owned Genera PR assuming oversight of previously state-owned power installations, which are on average 45 years old — twice the age of comparable installations on the U.S. mainland — and significantly reliant on combustible materials.
Over 700,000 consumers were without power in Puerto Rico in August when Tropical Cyclone Ernesto impacted the island.