Island-Wide Blackout Sweeps Puerto Rico After Power Plant Fire

A hearth that broke out on the Costa Sur energy plant in Puerto Rico late Wednesday compelled an island-wide outage, the most important blackout this yr to date on account of an ailing electrical grid. Power might not be restored to some elements of the island till Friday, in accordance with Puerto Rico’s electrical energy grid operator.

The actual explanation for the fireplace stays unclear, however it started round 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday on the energy plant situated simply outdoors the city of Guayanilla on the southwest coast. It reduce energy throughout the island, the place greater than one million persons are nonetheless with out electrical energy. About 160,000 folks had been additionally left with out water, according to NBC News. So far, energy has been restored to about 80,000 of the island’s 1.4 million vitality shoppers, in accordance with authorities officers.

“The system is being restored little by little,” Kevin Acevedo, a vice chairman of Luma, told the Associated Press. “The people of Puerto Rico have to understand that it’s a system with a lot of years. Bringing back Puerto Rico’s system is a delicate and complicated process.”

Schools needed to be shut down, and nonessential authorities staff had been informed to remain house. Meanwhile, the Mayagüez Medical Center was having points with its backup generator, which left an intensive care ground with out electrical energy and 4 sufferers needed to be intubated, CNN reported.

For years, the three.2 million residents of Puerto Rico have been affected by steady outages on account of an outdated energy grid. Extreme climate circumstances reminiscent of Hurricane Maria in 2017 have additionally taken a toll on the island’s energy grid, inflicting main outages alongside the southern coast. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, a public company, was compelled to declare chapter in May 2017, along with racking up $9 billion in public debt. In June 2021, Luma Energy took over Puerto Rico’s electrical energy transmission and distribution from Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority in an effort to denationalise the island’s energy grid. But for the reason that firm began its operations in Puerto Rico, its residents have complained of worsening circumstances.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security and a number of other different authorities companies introduced a plan in February to switch Puerto Rico’s energy grid to renewable vitality, with the objective of reaching 100% renewable vitality on the island by 2050. Today, solely 3% of Puerto Rico’s vitality comes from renewable sources, according to El Nuevo Día. The relaxation is powered by gasoline, petroleum, and the island’s final coal-fired energy plant, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“I will make sure that every federal fund appropriated to Puerto Rico and allocated for the reconstruction of the power grid is used efficiently and effectively,” Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi mentioned in a statement. “I thank the Biden Administration for partnering with us to help us achieve our main goal: transforming our energy system into a more resilient, reliable, affordable and clean one.”