Is Puerto Rico Without Power Again
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A major power outage hit Puerto Rico tardily Wednesday, plunging nearly 350,000 customers into darkness after a fire erupted at i of the largest power plants in the U.South. territory.
The outage was ane of the biggest in recent months for the island's aging electrical grid, which has seen its periodic blackouts grow worse the last few years. The outage elicited a collective groan from people across Puerto Rico as many who depend on insulin or respiratory therapies once again worried about how long it would last.
"Apagón!" wrote many frustrated customers beyond social media, using the Spanish give-and-take for outage.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said priority would be given to hospitals and other institutions equally he tweeted: "I urge everyone to remain at-home."
Puerto Rico's health secretary said generators at all hospitals and health centers were operation and had enough fuel, adding that coronavirus vaccines remained properly stored at the correct temperature.
Transportation officials said crews evacuated passengers from the isle's rapid transit arrangement and took them to their destinations via buses.
Instruction officials said they would presently announce whether classes at public schools would be cancelled Thursday, frustrating many parents who worried they might not find out if their cellphones died and they were unable to charge them.
Luma, a individual company that took over transmission and distribution of the Puerto Rico's Electric Power Potency last twelvemonth, said in a argument that power might not exist restored until Thursday, "given the size and scope" of the outage.
"The power grid has suffered a massive island-wide coma, potentially acquired by a circuit billow failure at the Costa Sur generation plant. We are not articulate on the exact cause at this time," the company said.
Costa Sur is one of the island's 4 main power plants.
Puerto Rico'southward burn department worked late into the night to put out the bonfire every bit frustration and anger over yet another blackout continued to grow.
Carian Montull, 36, said she was at a article of clothing store in southern Puerto Rico when the lights went out. She said the store'due south generators failed to turn on, so she and about a dozen other customers were forced to leave their purchases behind and go domicile.
She said someone nearby cried out: "The lights seriously went out?! Information technology can't be."
Montull said she doesn't have a generator at home and hoped the power would come back before long so the food in her refrigerator wouldn't spoil.
Luma said information technology would release additional information once it had more details. When it took over transmission and distribution in June, the governor at the time said the company had pledged to reduce ability interruptions past 30% and the length of outages by 40%. That aforementioned month, a large fire at a substation in the capital letter of San Juan left hundreds of thousands without ability.
Some other burn down at a ability constitute in September 2016 sparked an isle-wide coma. A year later, Hurricane Maria hit, razing the island'southward fragile electrical filigree and leaving some customers without power for nearly a year. Emergency repairs take since been fabricated, but reconstruction efforts have yet to outset.
In addition, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority is trying to emerge from bankruptcy and holds some $nine billion in public debt that it is trying to restructure. The utility has long struggled with mismanagement, corruption and crumbling infrastructure that has not been maintained.
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/puerto-rico-plunged-into-darkness-after-power-station-fire/