Puerto Rico Experiences Widespread Power Outage

A massive blackout struck Puerto Rico early on New Year's Eve, leaving over 1.3 million customers without power as they prepared for celebrations. Luma Energy reported that nearly 90% of the island's clients were affected, with preliminary findings attributing the outage to a fault in an underground power line. Restoration efforts could take up to two days, prompting anger towards Luma and Genera PR, the companies responsible for electricity management, with calls for their ouster growing among residents and officials alike. Governor Pedro Pierluisi demanded urgent solutions from both companies while Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón proposed creating an 'energy czar' to investigate potential breaches in Luma's contracts. This incident highlights ongoing issues with Puerto Rico's power infrastructure, which has struggled to recover since Hurricane Maria in 2017. Despite the widespread outage, critical facilities like Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport continued to operate using generators.