Puerto Rico: Massive Power Outage Leaves Majority of the Population Without Electricity on December 31

Puerto Rico: Massive Power Outage:

A widespread power outage affected Puerto Rico on Tuesday, leaving nearly 90% of homes without electricity just hours before the New Year celebrations. LUMA Energy reported that approximately 1.2 million consumers were left without power due to a malfunction at a plant located in the southern part of the island, an issue that could last throughout the day.

Josué Colón, the director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, called the incident a "major problem," emphasizing that the outage was caused by a cascading effect that impacted several power plants. Although authorities have already begun efforts to restore service, Colón acknowledged that the operations could face significant difficulties.

Puerto Rico faces one of the most expensive and deficient energy systems in the United States, making power outages a common occurrence. This incident is the most severe since Hurricane Ernesto struck in August, when half of the island was left without electricity.