Puerto Rico suffers massive blackout, power could be days away

December 31, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

PUERTO RICO — Protest: A couple of residents of old San Juan waved the Puerto Rico flag as they greeted people during a protest against the LUMA Energy company in San Juan, in 2022. Photo: Alejandro Granadillo/AP

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PUERTO RICO – NEARLY 80% OF Puerto Ricans, 1.3 million clients, lost electricity early in the morning on New Year’s Eve following the apparent failure of an underground cable at one of the territory’s power plants, which led to a “cascade effect” of problems across the island, reports NBC News. Energy company LUMA said that power restoration was proceeding in stages, with full service not expected for up to 48 hours, while Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority director Josue Colon said that fixing the issue would likely take most of the day. Puerto Rico’s electricity has long been a subject of frustration for island residents, with outages and disruptions on the island’s aging equipment relatively frequent compared to in the mainland U.S.

Brooklyn U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, has been a strong supporter of energy reform in Puerto Rico. Earlier this year, Velazquez pushed for loss compensation following a series of summer blackouts that affected hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses, while earlier this month, she joined with Bronx/Queens Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to advocate for renewable energy solutions on the island, and secured funding for resiliency programs with the aid of Sen. Chuck Schumer.

In a Tuesday afternoon X post, Velazquez wrote, “As we get ready to celebrate the New Year, Puerto Ricans be forced to celebrate in darkness. This is just the latest injustice done to the people of Puerto Rico by a fractured system. I hope this matter gets solved swiftly.”

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