Puerto Rico plunged into darkness as nearly all lose power on New Year's Eve
- A blackout affected nearly all of Puerto Rico, leaving over 1.3 million customers without power.
- The outage likely resulted from a fault in an underground power line; restoration could take 24 to 48 hours.
- Residents expressed anger and frustration, especially as the blackout coincided with New Year's celebrations.
On December 31, 2024, Puerto Rico experienced a significant blackout, impacting nearly all the island's power customers as the territory prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve. According to reports, around 90% of clients were without power around 9:30 a.m. local time, leaving many residents in the dark. The cause of the blackout is still under investigation, but preliminary findings suggest it resulted from a failure of an underground power line. As the blackout continued, frustration grew among the population, especially since more than 1.3 million individuals were left without electrical appliances, air conditioning, and lights. Many residents expressed disappointment that such a disruptive event occurred on New Year's Eve, with some individuals, like Manuel, sharing their sentiments of unhappiness due to the outage coinciding with his birthday. Luma Energy, the company responsible for the island's electricity transmission and distribution, reported that restoration efforts could take 24 to 48 hours, depending on conditions. As of late morning, less than 13% of their customers had power restored. Puerto Ricans began to prepare for extended periods without power, with individuals like Raúl Pacheco resorting to sleeping on their balconies and others planning to purchase candles and flashlights. Gloom cast a shadow over many families as planned celebrations became uncertain. Julio Córdova shared his experience of getting dressed in the dim light of his cellphone, illustrating the immediate and practical impacts of the blackout on daily life. This recent blackout has reignited anger towards Luma Energy and Genera PR, the companies responsible for power generation and management in Puerto Rico. Governor Pedro Pierluisi called for a prompt investigation into the causes and demanded better accountability from the utility firms in light of the already fragile power infrastructure on the island. Although chronic power outages have been a prevalent issue since Hurricane Maria in 2017, such extensive outages on special occasions further heighten the calls for change in the management of the territory's energy systems.