Luma Energy, the company that manages distribution at the site, states that the forecast for restoring power is between 24 hours and 48 hours
A large blackout plunged much of in darkness last Tuesday (31), just hours before New Year, and the restoration of power could take up to two days, the electricity company said. The “island-wide blackout” began at 5:30 am local time (6 am Brasília time), Luma Energy, which manages energy distribution in this Free Associated State of the United States, detailed on social media.
Preliminary investigations indicate that a fault in an underground cable was the cause of the outage, which affected a total of 1.5 million customers, although the situation is still under monitoring. In the early hours of Tuesday, buildings were dark, and traffic intersections were without traffic lights. José Pérez, director of external affairs at Luma Energy, told AFP that the failure “caused a domino effect” that led to the general blackout.
“We have already started restoring some customers, but the entire process should take between 24 and 48 hours,” the company added. Luma assured in a subsequent bulletin that service had initially been restored to some critical facilities, including a medical center and a hospital in the capital, San Juan. At 7pm local time, more than 335,000 customers had already been reconnected to supply, representing 23% of affected customers, according to the operator.
The president of Joe Biden, was informed, indicated the White House, which highlighted that federal assistance is available if necessary. The power outage occurs while the Caribbean island is experiencing its peak winter season and just hours away from New Year’s Eve celebrations. In a social media post, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said authorities were in contact with Luma Energy.
“We are demanding answers,” he said, adding that the public must be informed about the measures being taken to restore service across the island. Puerto Rico, which has been under United States control since 1898, faces constant infrastructure problems, which were worsened by the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Puerto Rican power grid has suffered from frequent outages since the archipelago was devastated by this hurricane. category 4.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira
