Power Restored To 98% In Puerto Rico After Massive New Year's Eve Blackout

Puerto Rico, which faced a major blackout on New Year's Eve, had power restored to 98% of the 1.47 million utility customers' electricity on Wednesday afternoon, as per Luma Energy, the company responsible for managing power transmission and distribution in the U.S. territory.

Homes, hospitals, water plants, and sewage facilities had their lights back on following the outage, highlighting the ongoing issues with the island's electricity system. The company warned that some customers might experience temporary outages in the next few days, adding that fully restoring power across the island could take up to two days.

President of Luma Energy Juan Saca said, "Given the fragile nature of the grid, we will need to manage available generation to customer demand, which will likely require rotating temporary outages," AP News reported.

The New Year's Eve blackout happened as residents prepared for increased electricity rates. Starting in January, the Energy Bureau approved a 2.2% increase per kilowatt hour for residential customers, raising the average household's electric bill by nearly $20.

The blackout in Puerto Rico began at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, leaving almost the entire island without power, as residents prepared for New Year celebrations. Authorities were investigating the cause, but Luma Energy suggested an issue with an underground electric line in the south might be to blame.

Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, who will take office Thursday, cautioned that power interruptions could continue in the coming days because power plants were not yet running at full capacity.

She urged residents to limit energy use to help stabilize the system and ensure electricity reaches more people. During her campaign, Colón had pledged to appoint an "energy czar" to manage the island's power grid, which has suffered from years of neglect and persistent problems.

Puerto Rico's power grid suffered severe damage in September 2017 from Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm. Power outages continue to disrupt daily life on the island. In June, over 340,000 residents lost electricity during extreme heat.

Similarly, in August, Hurricane Ernesto left more than half of all utility customers without power, with tens of thousands still in the dark a week later.