Power Restored in Puerto Rico After Major Blackout
The blackout affected 98% of Puerto Rico’s 1.47 million utility customers.
Image for illustration purposes.
Power was restored to nearly all electrical customers across Puerto Rico on Wednesday after a sweeping blackout plunged the U.S. territory into darkness on New Year’s Eve.
Root Cause of the Outage
The outage was attributed to a failure in an underground electric line in the south of the territory, according to a preliminary review by Luma Energy. This incident highlights the fragility of Puerto Rico’s power grid, which has long been plagued by persistent electricity problems.
Ongoing Challenges in Puerto Rico
The blackout on New Year’s Eve is just the latest in a series of electricity-related issues for Puerto Ricans. The island’s power grid suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Maria in 2017, contributing to ongoing reliability problems. Customers have faced repeated instances of power outages, impacting daily life and causing frustration among residents.
Despite the recent restoration of power, the looming increase in electricity rates poses another challenge for Puerto Rico. The approved rate hike is expected to raise bills for residential customers significantly, adding financial strain on top of existing power grid concerns.
Source: USANews
