“New Year’s Eve Power Outage Shocks Puerto Rico: A Celebration Interrupted”

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A blackout affected nearly the entire Puerto Rico early Tuesday while the U.S. territory anticipated celebrating New Year’s, leaving over 1.3 million customers without electricity. Authorities mentioned that it could take as long as two days to restore power.

The outage commenced at dawn, enveloping the island in an unsettling stillness as electronic devices and air conditioning units ceased functioning before those with generators activated them.

“It had to happen on December 31st!” shouted a man, only identifying himself as Manuel, while standing outside a grocery store in the capital of San Juan, complaining about the outage coinciding with his birthday. “There is no joy.”

Almost 90% of 1.47 million customers across Puerto Rico found themselves in darkness, according to Luma Energy, a private entity responsible for electricity transmission and distribution.

By late Tuesday night, over 700,000 customers, including 16 hospitals and Puerto Rico’s water and sewer authority, regained power, as reported by Luma. However, the firm’s website that detailed those still without power was offline.

“We acknowledge the profound frustration this disruption has caused, particularly on a day like today,” Luma stated in a press release. “We sincerely regret the inconvenience to your plans.”

Luma indicated that the power failure was likely due to a malfunction of an underground power line. They claimed to be restoring electricity “in the most expedient and safe manner.” Hugo Sorrentini, a spokesperson for Luma, informed The Associated Press that an investigation into the incident was underway.

Discover Puerto Rico, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting the island, alerted travelers about the outage on its webpage and advised cruise ship passengers to directly contact tour operators to determine if they had generators and were operational for the day.

Five cruise vessels were scheduled to dock in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. While most hotels operated on generators, short-term rentals without them reported cancellations. The main international airport in San Juan remained in operation.

The blackout ignited growing frustration against Luma and Genera PR, which is in charge of power generation in Puerto Rico, as increasing numbers of individuals demanded their removal.

Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, soon to be sworn in on January 2, is advocating for the establishment of an “energy czar” to examine potential breaches of contract by Luma while seeking another operator.

“We can’t continue depending on an energy system that fails our citizens,” she posted on the social media platform X, asserting that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure would be her foremost objective in office.

In the meantime, Governor Pedro Pierluisi mentioned he was in communication with Luma and Genera PR, stating on X that “we are demanding explanations and solutions.”

President Joe Biden spoke with Pierluisi on Tuesday evening regarding the outage and offered federal aid. Biden also conferred with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and instructed her to provide any necessary assistance to expedite power restoration on the island.

The outage compelled businesses, parks, and several shopping centers to close, serving notice that the government would implement limited hours for some agencies. Workers went around checking on hundreds of bedridden individuals while also providing ice for diabetics to preserve their insulin.

Other Puerto Ricans began to strategize for the future.

“I’ll head to my balcony. That’s where I will rest,” Raúl Pacheco remarked nonchalantly, as the 63-year-old diabetic sat on a walker tending to an injured foot.

Julio Córdova, a municipal employee, stated he dressed by the glow of his cellphone and intended to procure candles.

“This impacts me because I had plans. It couldn’t have happened yesterday or tomorrow?” he complained, shaking his head while raking leaves.

Though complete blackouts are uncommon in Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory has been grappling with chronic power failures attributed to a deteriorating power grid devastated by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.

Nevertheless, the system was already on a downward slide after years of neglect and insufficient investment.

Only recently have crews commenced making permanent fixes to Puerto Rico’s power grid following Hurricane Maria. The island continues to rely on generators supplied by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in stabilizing the grid.

In November, Puerto Rico’s government sought permission from U.S. authorities to continue utilizing over a dozen portable generators for an extra two years.

Some Puerto Ricans approached the recent outage with a sense of acceptance.

“They are a part of my daily routine,” said Enid Núñez, 49, who mentioned she had breakfast before work thanks to a small gas stove she purchased for such circumstances.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority continues to struggle with restructuring over $9 billion in debt, making it the largest of the island’s government entities.

Power plants fueled by petroleum provide more than 60% of Puerto Rico’s energy, trailed by natural gas and coal. Solar rooftops account for merely about 7% of electricity consumption on an island with a poverty rate exceeding 40%.