- Second total blackout in four months affects 1.4 million residents
- Economic losses exceed $230 million daily during outages
- Growing demands to terminate controversial private energy contracts
- Grid remains fragile seven years post-Hurricane Maria devastation
Emergency crews raced against time Thursday to restore electricity across Puerto Rico following the territory's second complete power failure since New Year's Eve. The cascading failure left critical infrastructure including Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and multiple hospitals reliant on backup generators, while hotels filled with Easter travelers emptied their water reserves. Preliminary data shows over 300,000 households lost running water access within hours of the outage.
Governor Jenniffer González interrupted her vacation to address what she called 'an unacceptable systemic failure.' While 15% of customers regained power by nightfall, officials warned full restoration could take three days. The crisis reignited protests against Luma Energy and Genera PR, private firms managing grid operations since 2021. 'This isn't just about lights - it's about losing $1 million every four minutes,' said Retail Center president Ramón Barquín III.
Healthcare providers reported critical challenges as Vega Alta mayor opened emergency charging stations for medical devices. Canóvanas officials deployed teams to check on 800+ bedridden patients reliant on electric equipment. Tourism operators fear long-term reputational damage, with San Juan's Caribe Hilton housing guests who paid $500/night now using stairwells as emergency exits.
Industry analysts highlight three systemic issues: aging infrastructure (68% of transmission lines predate 1990), insufficient weatherization, and flawed privatization models. Unlike Dominica's successful post-Maria geothermal transition, Puerto Rico remains dependent on imported fossil fuels powering obsolete plants. 'Microgrid solutions could prevent 83% of outage impacts,' argued Energy Resilience Institute director Carla García.
With reconstruction funds from Hurricane Maria still largely untapped, residents like José Luis Richardson question leadership priorities. As generators roar across affected neighborhoods, the Human Rights Commission announced investigations into whether repeated outages violate citizens' constitutional protections. Legislators promise emergency sessions to fast-track grid modernization bills stalled since 2022.