Puerto Rico Power Crisis: Fragility and Failures

A massive blackout affected nearly half of Puerto Rico's power supply, leaving critical structures without electricity. This incident highlights ongoing issues since 2017 hurricanes. Luma Energy, the main utility, restored power to 57.6% and aims for 90% restoration in 48 hours, despite potential temporary outages.

In Puerto Rico, almost half of the homes and businesses relying on the island's primary utility provider remain without electricity as of Thursday, following a significant blackout earlier this week. Luma Energy, the operator, reported that hospitals, airports, and prisons are still among those affected by the outage.

The electrical system of Puerto Rico has been unstable since the catastrophic hurricanes of 2017, which severely damaged the grid and resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths. Last New Year's Eve saw the island experiencing widespread blackouts due to an underground power line failure. Luma Energy reported that, by Thursday evening, power had been restored to 844,973 customers, representing 57.6% of the total affected.

Efforts to restore power are ongoing. Luma Energy has projected that at least 90% of customers will have electricity within the next 48 hours, depending on conditions and available power generation. The outage was initially triggered by a protection system failure, exacerbated by vegetation on a transmission line. Luma continues to investigate the incident's causes.

(With inputs from agencies.)