Puerto Rico's power grid collapses, leaving island in the dark

Given the fragile nature of the grid, we will need to manage available generation to customer demand, which will likely require rotating temporary outages,

Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, said in a statement

Jenniffer González-Colónelect

These days, I urge you to be moderate with your energy consumption to help reduce load shifting, so that more people can have access to electricity and the system can start up without any major setbacks,

González Colón said on social media platform X

Jenniffer González-Colónelect

We remain in communication with the energy and security component so that the energization work throughout Puerto Rico is carried out in a coordinated, safe manner and with a sense of urgency."

Jenniffer González Colón, governor-elect

Today's blackout and the uncertainty around restoration continue to impact our economy and quality of life,

she said

The truth is that we have been dealing with this problem for a while,

said Ismael Perez, a resident of Dorado, expressing frustration with the island's power grid

Pedro Pierluisigovernor

This is a long and arduous process that requires local and federal collaboration, which is why I requested that FEMA continue facilitating the projects we have begun,

Pierluisi said in a social media post

We can’t keep relying on an energy system that fails our people,

she wrote on X, ... adding that

It's the whole island. This disaster has been more than a decade in the making,

he said

The fault triggered a cascade effect, resulting in widespread outages. Repairs are in progress, but complete restoration will take time."

Josué Colón, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, in a radio interview

We have already begun the restoration process for some customers, and the entire process will take 24 to 48 hours,

Luma said

They’re part of my everyday life,

Enid Núñez, 49, told the news agency as she ate breakfast

We can inform you that work is already underway to restore the service with the San Juan and Palo Seco plants. We are demanding answers and solutions,

he wrote on social media

Since the devastating Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s energy grid has remained costly, unstable, and unreliable, failing the Puerto Rican people at every turn,

Espaillat wrote

Bad Bunnysinger

This is how you spend New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico, without electricity. Normal.”

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, also weighed in on the New Year’s Eve blackout on his Instagram Stories

The cause of the fault remains under investigation,

LUMA wrote in its post

Despite billions of dollars allocated by the Biden Administration to rebuild, much of the funding remains unutilized, leaving Puerto Rico to face another year in darkness. Bold and immediate action is needed to address this crisis before it’s too late,

he said

We are demanding answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera,

he wrote in a social media post

This affects me because I had plans. It couldn't have been yesterday or tomorrow?"

he said as he shook his head

We are demanding answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, who must expedite the restart of the generating units outside the fault area and keep the people duly informed about the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the Island,

he said

It had to be on the 31st of December

exclaimed one man, who only gave his name as Manuel, as he stood outside a grocery store in the capital of San Juan, grumbling about the outage that coincided with his birthday