A massive power outage it covered most of Puerto Rico early Tuesday, leaving more than 1.2 million people without power. Here’s what you need to know about the blackout and Luma Energy, which is responsible for the distribution and transmission of electricity on the island.
What caused the blackout?
Luma Energy said in a statement that it is investigating the cause of the outage, but noted that preliminary findings point to problems with an underground line.
How soon will power be restored in Puerto Rico?
Luma said to statement early Tuesday that it would likely take 24 to 28 hours to restore power to Puerto Rico.
The company later said service had been restored in some areas, including St. John’s Municipal Hospital, but did not disclose how many people were still without power.
Puerto Rico’s main airport, the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, he said Tuesday on social media that it had activated backup power generators and was operating normally.
What is Luma?
Luma is a privately held Canadian-American company, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that operates and manages electric power infrastructure in Puerto Rico.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which ravaged US territory in September 2017, the government of Puerto Rico in 2021 contracted Luma to manage the transmission and distribution of electricity on the island. Previously, power was overseen by the state-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (APRE) bankruptcy in 2017 as the government faced billions of dollars in public debt payments.
Luma CEO Juan Saca, a veteran telecom executive who was appointed to lead the company in 2023, he said in a Sept. 26 hearing before a House panel that Luma has made significant investments to improve Puerto Rico’s network. This includes installing more than 17,850 hurricane-proof utility poles, adding thousands of automation devices intended to soften the impact of power outages, and clearing island vegetation that can impede the maintenance
“The impact of this has been real. Over the last year, more than 95% of customers had concurrent service more than 98% of the time when generation was available,” he told lawmakers.
But Saca also sought to deflect criticism that Puerto Rico’s electricity system remains unreliable, pointing to past “financial mismanagement.” AEE’s bankruptcy seven years ago has also hampered progress in strengthening and modernizing the island’s grid, he said.
Have Puerto Ricans faced previous power outages?
Puerto Rico’s power grid suffered from problems even before Hurricane Maria, the result of inadequate maintenance and years of underinvestment. But the Category 4 storm crippled the system: Even years after Maria, chronic blackouts and high electricity costs are common in Puerto Rico.
In June, to cite a recent example, a electric cut plunged more than 340,000 Puerto Ricans into darkness after two of the island’s power plants shut down.
“They are part of my daily life,” Enid Nunez, 49, who said she eats breakfast before work thanks to a small gas stove she bought for these events, told the Associated Press. Raul Pacheco, a 63-year-old diabetic struggling with an injured foot, said he planned to sleep on his balcony during the outage.
Antonio Torres Miranda, associate commissioner of the Puerto Rico Energy Agency, he said at a House hearing this fall that the island’s power distribution and transmission systems have made progress, but remain subpar.
“The recent outage events in June 2024, which affected more than 300,000 customers, serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of our infrastructure and the urgent need for comprehensive improvements,” he said. “These incidents highlight the complex interplay of aging assets, deferred maintenance and the increasing impacts of climate change on our island’s power grid.”
Some critics are more forceful in their assessment of Luma’s record in Puerto Rico.
“Almost 25 years into the 21st century, it’s ridiculous that Puerto Rico’s power grid has failed its people again. Puerto Ricans deserve answers and accountability from Luma for this latest fiasco,” Camille Rivera, founder of La Brega Y Fuerza, a defender of the base. group, said in a statement. “Luma has Puerto Rico in energy control, and Puerto Ricans should not have to put up with continued substandard service.”
contributed to this report.