It seems Puerto Rico won’t be ringing in the New Year quite as planned. The vast majority of the island lost power early Tuesday morning.
The power went out early in the morning, leaving the entire island in silence as electrical devices and air conditioners stopped working until those who could afford it switched to generators.
Luma Energy, a private company in charge of distributing electricity, stated that about 90% of the 1.47 million customers in Puerto Rico were without power.
The outage was attributed to a failed underground power line.
Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Pierluisi acknowledged the issue on X:
“We are in communication with LUMA and Genera, as well as with the AEE team about the massive blackout affecting a large part of the island due to a critical failure. We can report that work is already underway to restore service using the San Juan and Palo Seco plants.”
— Gobernador Pierluisi (@GovPierluisi) December 31, 2024
(Translated)
We are in communication with LUMA and Genera, as well as with the AEE team regarding the massive blackout affecting a large part of the Island due to a critical fault. We can report that work is already underway to restore service with the San Juan and Palo Seco plants. We are demanding answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, who must expedite the restart of the generating units outside the fault area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island.
Tuesday evening, Pierluisi provided an update.
Durante el día de hoy he estado en contacto con con el Presidente de Estados Unidos, @POTUS, y la Secretaria del Departamento de Energía, @SecGranholm, quienes me reiteraron el compromiso del gobierno federal de asistir a Puerto Rico en continuar y agilizar la reconstrucción del…
— Gobernador Pierluisi (@GovPierluisi) January 1, 2025
During the day, I have been in contact with President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, both of whom reiterated the commitment of the federal government to assist Puerto Rico in continuing and speeding up the reconstruction of our electric system. This is a long and arduous process that requires local and federal collaboration, which is why I requested that FEMA continue facilitating the projects we have begun. Also, I thanked them for the two year extension we received today from FEMA authorizing the use of the temporary generators that provide 350 MW, which will provide that generation until 2027. At the same time, I am also in constant communication with LUMA and Genera, as we continue to demand the system’s recovery as soon as possible.
The White House confirmed President Biden’s contact with Pierluisi.
The President spoke by phone this evening with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi to discuss the widespread power outages across Puerto Rico and offer any federal assistance that they need. The President also spoke by phone with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and directed her to continue to offer any assistance the Biden Administration can provide to speed power restoration for the people of Puerto Rico.
As of Tuesday afternoon, power had been restored to approximately 73,000 customers, as well as two hospitals in San Juan. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport continued normal operations via generators.
In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered sustained power outages following Hurricane Maria.
Afterward, Puerto Rico privatized its power grid. The island’s leaders contracted the Canadian American consortium Luma Energy to operate power lines and transmission towers, while fellow contractor Genera PR operates power generation plants.
Governor-elect Jenniffer González-Colón (who assumes office on January 2) also addressed the outage Tuesday on X, vowing to make stabilizing the energy grid her top priority:
We can’t keep relying on an energy system that fails our people. Today’s blackout and the uncertainty around restoration continue to impact our economy and quality of life.
Even before officially taking office, I’ve met with energy and public safety teams to ensure swift action…
— Jenniffer González (@Jenniffer) December 31, 2024
We can’t keep relying on an energy system that fails our people. Today’s blackout and the uncertainty around restoration continue to impact our economy and quality of life.
Even before officially taking office, I’ve met with energy and public safety teams to ensure swift action and updates. Restoring power is our priority. LUMA will provide hourly updates on progress.
When I take office as Governor, stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid will be my top priority.
In the meantime, the majority of the island’s residents will have to celebrate the New Year in the dark.
