Puerto Rico Hit By Near-total Blackout

Puerto Rico was once again plunged into darkness by the latest failure of its troubled power grid on Tuesday.

Power went out across the territory starting at 5:30 a.m. according to LUMA Energy, the private company managing Puerto Rico’s fragile grid. The company apologized to Puerto Ricans for "the disruption to your plans for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the New Year."

Power had been restored for about 336,000 of Puerto Rico's 1.5 million customers as of 6:00 p.m., but the company said the full restoration process could take one to two days, potentially still leaving customers in the dark for the New Year’s holiday.

“We understand the frustration of our customers. Nobody wants to spend New Year's Eve without service,” LUMA spokesperson Hugo Sorrentini said. “We won't rest until we get them all in service.”

The cause of the blackout is under investigation. Sorrentini said the preliminary findings show a fault with a switchyard cable outside of the Costa Sur generation plant might have caused the units to trip, which triggered cascading disruptions that caused the system-wide shutdown.

Puerto Rico experiences frequent power disruptions due to the instability of the power grid, in large part due to neglect and lack of investment by the government-owned utility. And its location in the Caribbean also makes it vulnerable to powerful hurricanes that often wreak havoc on the fragile power system.

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria decimated the territory’s energy grid and triggered blackouts that lasted nearly a year in some parts of the archipelago. Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives because of that storm, making it the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history.

Puerto Rico experienced a widespread power failure earlier this year when a glancing blow by Tropical Storm Ernesto triggered a major blackout.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden's point person on the federal government's efforts to make Puerto Rico's grid more resilient, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "No American should be forced to bring in the new year in the dark. I share the frustration of many Puerto Ricans facing another widespread power outage on the island. They deserve better."

Puerto Rico Gov.-elect Jenniffer González-Colón, currently the territory's non-voting resident commissioner in Congress, said stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid will be her top priority when she takes office.

"We can't keep relying on an energy system that fails our people," she said on X. "Today's blackout and the uncertainty around restoration continue to impact our economy and quality of life."

Current Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said on X work is underway to restore service at two major plants in the territory and his administration would be “demanding answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, which 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.”

Ivan Baez, a spokesperson for Genera, the private company that manages Puerto Rico's legacy power plants, confirmed LUMA's initial assessment of the cause of the blackout.

“The good news is that the plants are in good shape, thank God, and LUMA is working to reconnect customers according to their safety protocols," he said.

About 150,000 customers with solar and storage systems in Puerto Rico have power, said Javier Rúa-Jovet, chief policy officer of the Solar + Energy Storage Association.