Puerto Rico Blackout Triggers Renewed Grid Concerns

On April 16, 2025, Puerto Rico was hit by a massive island-wide blackout that left 1.4 million residents without power and disrupted water service for over 400,000 people, just before Easter. The outage was caused by a protection system failure and vegetation interfering with a key transmission line, which led to a shutdown of all power plants. By Thursday afternoon, more than half of the affected customers had electricity restored, while hundreds of thousands, especially outside San Juan, remained without power. The blackout severely impacted hospitals, airports, and businesses, with estimated daily revenue losses of $230 million. Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, who returned early from vacation to manage the crisis, acknowledged the grid's chronic fragility and mounting public frustration with private operators Luma Energy and Genera PR. This is the second full-island blackout in four months, highlighting ongoing infrastructure challenges since Hurricane Maria.