An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving all 1.4 million clients on the US territory without power ahead of the forthcoming Easter weekend, officials said.
“The entire island is without generation,” Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy, which oversees the transmission and distribution of power, told news agency AP.
“This is unacceptable,” said Josué Colón, the former executive director of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority.
The outage left at least 78,000 clients without water, with officials warning power likely won't be fully restored for another 48 to 72 hours.
It was not immediately clear what caused the shutdown, the latest in a string of major blackouts on the island in recent years. Governor Jenniffer González, who was travelling, said officials were “working diligently” to address the outage.
By late afternoon, some 5,000 to 7,000 clients had their power restored, although the number is expected to fluctuate.
Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million residents has a more than 40% poverty rate, and not everyone can afford solar panels or generators. While there was a push to use more renewable energy sources under ex-US President Joe Biden's administration, which provided the island with mega generators and other resources, experts worry that won't happen under Biden's successor Donald Trump.
Roughly 117,000 homes and businesses o have solar rooftops. Meanwhile, petroleum-fired power plants provide 62% of Puerto Rico's power, natural gas 24%, coal 8% and renewables 7%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Daniel Hernández, vice president of operations at Genera PR, said at a news conference a disturbance hit the transmission system shortly after noon on Wednesday, during a time when the grid is vulnerable because there are not many machines regulating frequency at that hour.
Verónica Ferraiuoli, acting governor and secretary of state for Puerto Rico, said the White House reached out to local officials and said they are available if needed.
Puerto Rico's previous island-wide blackout occurred on New Year’s Eve 2024.
The US territory has struggled with chronic outages since September 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated the island as a powerful Category 4 storm, razing a power grid which crews are still struggling to rebuild.
The grid already had been deteriorating as a result of decades of a lack of maintenance and investment.
“The entire island is without generation,” Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy, which oversees the transmission and distribution of power, told news agency AP.
“This is unacceptable,” said Josué Colón, the former executive director of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority.
The outage left at least 78,000 clients without water, with officials warning power likely won't be fully restored for another 48 to 72 hours.
It was not immediately clear what caused the shutdown, the latest in a string of major blackouts on the island in recent years. Governor Jenniffer González, who was travelling, said officials were “working diligently” to address the outage.
JUST IN: Puerto Rico hit by island-wide power outage as the governor enjoys her holiday elsewhere..yep Jennifer Gonzalez not too bothered on the beach pic.twitter.com/oWvkc1AuT1
— Dortie (@24SevenEyes) April 16, 2025
By late afternoon, some 5,000 to 7,000 clients had their power restored, although the number is expected to fluctuate.
Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million residents has a more than 40% poverty rate, and not everyone can afford solar panels or generators. While there was a push to use more renewable energy sources under ex-US President Joe Biden's administration, which provided the island with mega generators and other resources, experts worry that won't happen under Biden's successor Donald Trump.
⚠️ PUERTO RICO | Apagón total: toda la isla quedó sin luz. pic.twitter.com/RzqUv7TDp8
— Mundo Poder (@MundoPoder_) April 16, 2025
Roughly 117,000 homes and businesses o have solar rooftops. Meanwhile, petroleum-fired power plants provide 62% of Puerto Rico's power, natural gas 24%, coal 8% and renewables 7%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Daniel Hernández, vice president of operations at Genera PR, said at a news conference a disturbance hit the transmission system shortly after noon on Wednesday, during a time when the grid is vulnerable because there are not many machines regulating frequency at that hour.
Verónica Ferraiuoli, acting governor and secretary of state for Puerto Rico, said the White House reached out to local officials and said they are available if needed.
Puerto Rico's previous island-wide blackout occurred on New Year’s Eve 2024.
The US territory has struggled with chronic outages since September 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated the island as a powerful Category 4 storm, razing a power grid which crews are still struggling to rebuild.
The grid already had been deteriorating as a result of decades of a lack of maintenance and investment.
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