Puerto Rico Blackouts Leave 1.3 Million Without Power on New Year’s Eve
A New Year’s Eve blackout plunged nearly all of Puerto Rico into darkness, affecting over 1.3 million customers. Luma Energy, the territory’s power transmission and distribution company, attributed the outage to an underground power line failure and estimated restoration within 48 hours. The incident, impacting nearly 90% of customers, highlighted the island’s ongoing struggles with a fragile power grid, damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and weakened by years of neglect. Many residents adapted, utilizing alternative light sources and making contingency plans.
John Q. Hosedrinker