Puerto Rico hit by island-wide power blackout

• 6 years ago (2018-04-19)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Transmission 191

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A power line failure in southern Puerto Rico cut electricity to almost all of the island on 18 April. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) said that it was working to determine a cause, and that it expected to restore service in 24-36 hours. Puerto Rico’s smaller islands of Culebra and Vieques, as well as two microgrids on the main island, were unaffected.

Governor Ricardo Rossello said: “This is another example of why Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure needs to incorporate new forms of power.” He added that he was committed to reforms of the island’s energy sector.

PREPA has suffered several blackouts since Hurricane Maria, and has been in bankruptcy since last July, owing $9 billion to investors.

Rossello is planning to privatise PREPA over the next 18 months. In the short-term, though, the grid remains vulnerable ahead of a new hurricane season beginning this summer.

Currently, most of the island’s generation is in the south of the island, while the bulk of the population live in the north of the island. Tomas Torres, Executive Director said: “We need to have power in the north to avoid this kind of chain reaction every time we have a power problem.”