Puerto Rico Faces Dark Start to 2024 Following New Year’s Eve Blackout

As Puerto Rico entered the new year, a nearly island-wide blackout left over 1.2 million residents without electricity, reviving critiques of the territory's fragile power system as officials demand urgent solutions.

Puerto Rico experienced a dramatic New Year's Eve blackout that plunged the island into darkness as residents celebrated. According to Luma Energy, the principal power distributor for the territory, over 1.2 million of the approximately 1.5 million customers were affected by the sudden outage. The cause of the blackout is still under investigation, with full restoration estimated to take between 24 to 48 hours.

This incident has reignited discussions concerning Puerto Rico's persistent power problems, which have largely remained unresolved since Hurricane Maria's devastation in 2017. As repairs began, some areas, including the municipal hospital in San Juan, started to see a return of power by Tuesday afternoon, according to Luma Energy.

Puerto Rico's congressional representative, Jenniffer González-Colon, who is soon to be the governor of the territory, expressed outrage via social media, stating that the island's energy system must improve to adequately serve its citizens. Current Governor Pedro Pierluisi also voiced his demand for answers, holding the two main power companies, Luma and Genera, accountable for the ongoing crises.

This year alone has seen numerous blackouts impacting hundreds of thousands of residents, with major outages occurring during the summer that affected approximately 350,000 individuals in rising temperatures, and another blackout affecting over 700,000 after Hurricane Ernesto in August.

Many Puerto Ricans shared their frustration with the ongoing power instability. "They're part of my everyday life," remarked Enid Núñez, 49, in a statement to the Associated Press. The island’s energy infrastructure has been under strain for years, long before Hurricane Maria tore through in 2017. While federal funds have been allocated for infrastructure improvements and recovery projects, a February 2024 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office indicated these efforts have been met with challenges, including construction delays and strict federal requirements for fund usage.

Mark Levine, New York City's Manhattan borough president, also criticized the situation, highlighting the importance of addressing the struggles of the over 3.5 million American citizens in Puerto Rico. “We owe them so much better,” he wrote on social media, underlining the urgency for comprehensive energy reform on the island.