THE entire island of Puerto Rico has been plunged into darkened as authorities scramble to restore electricity.
Officials have warned that it could take “days” for power to return as the heavily Catholic US territory prepares to celebrate Easter weekend.
Customers sit inside a restaurant lit by battery-powered lanterns[/caption]
Puerto Ricans protest outside La Fortaleza during a massive blackout in Old San Juan[/caption]
Cars drive through a dark street after Puerto Rico was hit with a massive power outage[/caption]
Passengers onboard trains had to get off after the power outage stopped their journey[/caption]
Energy plants dramatically shut down on Wednesday and has since caused “significant disruption” to citizens in the affected areas.
All 1.4 million customers have been affected by the terrifying blackouts, Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy revealed.
By late Wednesday night, crews had thankfully restored power to 175,000 customers, or 12 per cent.
Sites affected included the main international airport and several hospitals, and at least a whopping 328,000 customers were left without water in the horror blackouts.
Meanwhile, hotels have been close to capacity, with thousands of tourists celebrating the Easter weekend on the island.
Tourism officials rushed to reassure them that many hotels were operating with generators – but that benefit doesn’t extend to residents.
Those without generators desperately crowded around grocery stores and other businesses to buy ice across Puerto Rico.
One affected resident, a mum to a six-month-old and a five-year-old with Down syndrome said as the temperatures soared on Wednesday: “I’m desperate. My generator is broken.”
Train passengers were forced to change their journeys after they were made to get off due to the power outage.
And professional baseball and basketball games had to be cancelled as the hum of generators and smell of smoke filled the air.
Traffic also became thick as cops were deployed to busy intersections.
Gov. Jenniffer Gonzlez said: “It is unacceptable that we have a failure of this magnitude in the transmission of the electrical system.”
Authorities said 90 per cent of clients would likely have electricity 48 to 72 hours after the blackout.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans were left furious over the latest outage, with many repeating calls for the government to cancel the contract with Luma and Genera PR which oversees generation of power on the island.
Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny has even spoken out in rage, writing on X: “When are we going to do something?”
It was not immediately clear what caused the shutdown which is the latest in multiple major blackouts on the island in recent years.
An urgent investigation into the blackout is currently underway, according to power generator Genera.
Governor Gonzlez vowed late Wednesday that she would cancel the contract with Luma, but explained that while government officials have started analysing the contract and finding possible replacements, it’s not a quick process.
People walk through a dark street[/caption]
A client lights up the menu of a restaurant with a cell phone light[/caption]
A couple take a selfie in front of a Puerto Rican flag[/caption]
People have dinner at chinese restaurant Santurce during the blackout[/caption]
Gonzlez added that officials have already warned there won’t be enough generation of power for this summer when demand peaks.
She said: “Puerto Rico can’t be the island where the power goes out all the time.
“We’re going to take action. Let people have no doubts.”
While power restoration on the main island of Puerto Rico was moving slowly to protect equipment, emergency generation stations restored power to the tiny neighbouring island of Culebra and parts of neighboring Vieques.
The island of 3.2 million residents has a more than 40% poverty rate, and not everyone can afford solar panels or generators.
Daniel Hernndez, vice president of operations at Genera PR, said at a news conference that a disturbance hit the transmission system shortly after noon on Wednesday, during a time when the grid is vulnerable because there are not many machines regulating frequency at that hour.
The White House reached out to local officials and said they are available if needed, Vernica Ferraiuoli, acting governor and secretary of state for Puerto Rico, said.
Meanwhile Pablo Jos Hernndez, Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, said he would work to ensure that Washington understands the real and urgent situation Puerto Ricans face every day.
The electric grid crisis is frustrating, and after years of blackouts, it feels like its going from bad to worse,” he said.
The last islandwide blackout occurred on New Years Eve.
Puerto Rico has struggled with outages since September 2017 when Hurricane Maria pummelled the island as a deadly Category 4 storm razed a power grid that crews are still struggling to rebuild.
A bartender talks to a client at a bar[/caption]
People walk through a dark street[/caption]
A gas station employee directs traffic as cars line up for fuel[/caption]
People walk through a dark street[/caption]