Puerto Rico experiences nearly island-wide power outages on New Year’s Eve | Infrastructure news

Puerto Rico has been plunged into darkness after a Power grid failure It sparked a power outage across much of the island.

The outage occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, the last day of 2024.

While complete power outages are relatively rare on the island, power failure Overall it has become a regular occurrence in the years since Hurricane Maria destroyed the electrical grid in 2017.

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi sought to reassure the island, with a population of 3.2 million, that electricity would soon be restored. He attributed the “massive power outage” to a “catastrophic failure” in the electricity network.

“We can inform you that work is already underway to restore service at the San Juan and Palo Seco plants. We are demanding answers and solutions.” books On social media.

The New Year’s Eve blackout left nearly 1.27 million households without power, out of a total of 1.5 million customers, according to private energy company LUMA, which is responsible for maintaining the power grid.

As of 11:45 AM local time (15:45 GMT), LUMA I mentioned That only 13.5 percent of its clients have access to power.

The company explained in a post on social media that the source of the power outage initially appeared to be “a fault in an underground line.” This in turn led to an island-wide power outage at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time (9:30 GMT).

“The cause of the error is still under investigation,” LUMA books in office.

“We have already begun the restoration process for some customers, and the full process will take between 24 and 48 hours, conditions permitting.”

Puerto Rico’s power grid has been a source of frustration for residents for years, even inspiring pop star Bad Bunny to write an ode to the island called El Apagón, or The Blackout.

The Puerto Rican musician has been an outspoken critic of LUMA, a joint venture owned by Canadian and US companies.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, also commented on the New Year’s Eve power outage on his Instagram Stories: “This is how you spend New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico, without power. Normal.”

LUMA took over the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), the government-run power provider, in 2020 after the latter filed for bankruptcy.

But LUMA itself has faced multiple protests, with concerns raised over… The cost of its services The nature of the company’s contract with the government. Some say its terms favor LUMA, with little protection for ordinary Puerto Ricans.

Gov.-elect Jennifer Gonzalez Colon, who is set to succeed Pierluisi on Jan. 2, has indicated she would consider appointing an “energy officer” to review LUMA’s actions and consider other energy providers.

Puerto Rico’s power grid crisis reached a breaking point in 2017, when Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm, struck the island.

Not only was this the deadliest storm to hit Puerto Rico, but it also destroyed the island’s aging electrical grid, creating further life-threatening conditions. Power outages were chronic in the aftermath.

U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat of New York, a Dominican American, spoke about the legacy of Hurricane Maria when he called for reform.

“Since the devastating Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s power grid has remained expensive, unstable, and unreliable, failing the people of Puerto Rico at every turn,” Espaillat said. books.

The United States considers Puerto Rico an unincorporated territory, called Española by outgoing US President Joe Biden To do more To support the deteriorating infrastructure on the island.

“Despite the billions of dollars the Biden administration has allocated to rebuild, much of the funding remains unused, leaving Puerto Rico facing another year in the dark. Bold and immediate action is needed to address this crisis before it is too late,” he said.

But some residents who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday morning expressed resignation over the ongoing power outages.

“It’s part of my daily life,” Enid Nunez, 49, told the news agency as she ate breakfast.

She cooked the meal on a gas stove, which she had bought specifically for such situations.