Nearly all of Puerto Rico without power
SAN JUAN—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 percent of clients were without power at 9 p.m. (0100 GMT) on Tuesday, down from 90 percent 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.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a post on social media that Luma and Genera “need to speed up bringing back online the generator units … and keep the people informed about the measures they’re taking to bring service back to the whole island.”
‘In the dark’
Ramon Luis Nieves, 49, a lawyer in San Juan and a former senator on the island, said that New Year’s Eve is typically a time for family reunions, popping champagne bottles and watching fireworks. The power outage could mute celebrations this year, he said.
“My wife and I need to figure it out,” he said. “We can’t visit my wife’s family in the dark.”
He added that he’s not surprised by the outage, especially after Hurricane “Maria,” a Category 4 storm that hit the island hard in 2017.
