A spokesman for an electricity company said that power outages across the island hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, and Catholic residents in U.S. territory were preparing to celebrate Easter weekend.
All hospitals on the island operate on generators after they went out at 12:38 p.m. ET, Puerto Rico Acting Governor and Secretary of State Veronica Ferraiuoli said in a press conference. Josué Colón, executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, said the source of the power outage was in the southern part of the affected island.
Luma Energy spokesman Hugo Sorrentini oversees the transmission and distribution of power, and all 1.4 million customers on the island have no electricity. “The entire island has no generation,” he said.
Cologne said the recovery of power could last until Thursday, or at least 48 hours. According to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, at least 78,000 customers also have no water.
It is not clear what caused the closure, the latest in a series of major power outages on the island in recent years. The last major power outage occurred New Year's Eve less than five months ago. Traveling Governor Jenniffer González said officials “work hard” to resolve the disruption. Ferrarioli said the governor was trying to return as soon as possible.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans are angry amid the latest power outage, and many have updated the government's call to cancel contracts with Luma and Luma and PR, which oversees electricity on the island.
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny said in Spanish on X: “When are we going to do what?” obviously means interruption.
“It's a disaster,” said Orlando Huertas, 68, who drank with a friend in a street bar and criticized the government for its inadequacy in addressing chronic disruptions.
Dozens of people were forced to walk along the tracks of the rapid transport system serving the capital San Juan, while dozens of businesses, including the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean, were forced to close. Professional baseball and basketball games were cancelled as generators buzzed and smoke filled the air.
“After today's power outages, our administration is actively communicating with the White House and all relevant federal agencies,” Puerto Rico's Federal Affairs Authority said in a statement. “We are working closely with the federal government to ensure that Puerto Rico has the necessary support and that all essential services will be restored as soon as possible.”
By Wednesday afternoon, about 5,000 to 7,000 customers had regained power, although that number is expected to fluctuate. Those without generators crowded around grocery stores and other businesses to buy ice.
“I'm desperate. My generator was broken,” said Carmen Suriel, who worried about the impact of the power outage on her two children, a six-month-old and a five-year-old with Down syndrome as temperatures rose on Wednesday in Puerto Rico.
Alma Ramírez, 69, said she was frustrated by the constant power outages, some of which had damaged her TV and microwave, forcing her to buy new appliances.
“They have to improve,” she said of the government. “The people affected are us, the poor.”
The poverty rate of 3.2 million residents is over 40%, and not everyone can afford solar panels or generators. While efforts to use more renewable energy under the management of former U.S. President Joe Biden, which provides Puerto Rico with large generators and other resources, experts fear that it won’t happen under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Puerto Rico has struggled with a long-term power outage since September 2017 Hurricane Maria hits the island As a powerful Category 4 storm, put aside a power grid that is still working to rebuild. As the island has just begun to rebuild, it has been attacked again Hurricane Fiona in 2022.
The grid has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and investment.
Puerto Rico Government in 2021 after Hurricane Maria Hire Lumais a private Canadian-American company based in San Juan to handle the transmission and distribution of electricity on the island. Electricity was previously supervised by the state-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Commission Bankruptcy in 2017 As the government faces billions of dollars in public debt payments.
