Puerto Rico Faces Widespread Power Outage

Puerto Rico experienced a major blackout on New Year's Eve, affecting nearly 1.3 million residents after a critical power grid failure at around 5:30 a.m. local time. Luma Energy, the private company responsible for the island's electricity supply, attributed the outage to a failure in an underground power line and indicated that restoration efforts could take between 24 to 48 hours. Governor Pedro Pierluisi has demanded accountability from Luma, while the incoming governor plans to review the energy contracts and potentially engage a new power provider. This outage is part of a troubling trend, as Puerto Rico has faced recurring blackouts since Hurricane Maria in 2017, which severely damaged the island's power infrastructure. As of the latest updates, only 14% of customers had regained electricity. Many residents are relying on backup generators as they await power restoration amid the New Year's celebrations.