massive power outage struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday, leaving more than 1.2 million out of 1.4 million in the U.S. territory without power. The outage appears to be from a failing underground power line.
LUMA Energy, a private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution on the island, said, in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), that restoring power to the island could take between 24 and 48 hours, “conditions permitting.”
“LUMA has activated its Emergency Operations Center and is currently working with Genera and other generation partners to restart the electrical system and restore power following an island-wide outage that began at 5:30 a.m,” the statement read.
It continued, “While the cause of the outage is under investigation, preliminary findings point to a fault on an underground line.” Hours later, the company provided a later update noting that power had already been restored to certain areas.
Near total blackouts in Puerto Rico are not common. However, the U.S. territory has struggled with power issues since 2017’s Hurricane Maria, which impacted its already struggling power grid.
Government officials have previously demanded answers from both Luma Energy, and Genera PR, the company responsible for maintenance of generation units.“No more excuses, we don’t want any more explanations,” Carlos Méndez, a member of the island’s House of Representatives, said in September 2024. “The people deserve a clear and precise answer.”
In 2020, Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority began privatizing operations as it worked towards restructuring its nearly $9 in public debt, and towards modernizing its old, neglected infrastructure. At the time, it contracted two power companies, Luna Energy and Genera PR. The companies have appeared to blame each other for the persistent power struggles.
In response to the government criticism, Luma issued a statement claiming Genera PR “should accept its responsibility,” as the outages have been a result of failing infrastructure it operates. On the contrary, Genera PR alleged that Luma Energy requested that it reduce generation, damaging units the company had been repairing.
On Tuesday, Governor-elect Jenniffer González shared an encouraging statement about what will change under her new leadership. “We cannot continue with an energy system that fails our people so much. Events such as this morning’s blackout and the uncertainty of a prompt energization of the island continue to affect our economy and quality of life…I formed an Energy Task Force and it will be the main priority when I take up my duties as governor to provide our people with a stable electrical system,” González asserted.
The Governor-elect also previously proposed the creation of an energy czar to oversee the contract with LUMA Energy.