Power outages plunged much of Puerto Rico into darkness early Tuesday as the U.S. territory prepared for New Year's celebrations.
The power outage has left more than 1.2 million of the island's 1.47 million customers in the dark, with local officials baffled as they say it could take up to two days to restore power.
AP report The devastating power outage occurred at dawn, knocking out appliances and air conditioning before those who could afford generators could quickly turn on, plunging Puerto Rico into an eerie silence.
“It had to be December 31st!” one man quoted by the paper, who gave his first name only as Manuel, said while standing outside a grocery store in the capital San Juan, as the power outage coincided with his birthday. shouted while complaining. “There's no such thing as happiness.”
A public transportation bus runs through a dark street in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after a massive power outage in Puerto Rico on December 31, 2024. (RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)
Luma Energy, the private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution, said nearly 90% of Puerto Rico's 1.47 million customers were left in the dark.
The city of Luma said in a statement that the outage appeared to be caused by a faulty underground power line, and that it was restoring power “in the quickest and safest way possible.” A Luma spokesperson told the AP that the incident remains under investigation.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement. Post on social media He said his administration was in contact with both LUMA and Genera “about the widespread power outage affecting large parts of the island due to significant outages.”
Power outages are rare in Puerto Rico, but AP points out Suffering from chronic power outages The cause is believed to be a crumbling power grid that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm, in September 2017.
At the same time, the Puerto Rico Electricity Authority struggling with restructuring With more than $9 billion in debt, it is the largest of any government agency on the island.
