Puerto Rico In The Midst Of An Island-Wide Blackout

The power outage was caused by heavy machinery that was being used to remove a collapsed transmission tower. Power is expected to be restored over the next day and a half. </s> The Associated Press

 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the U.S. territory struggles to repair an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria. Officials said an excavator accidentally downed a transmission line.

Officials said it could take 24 to 36 hours to fully restore power to more than 1.4 million customers as outrage grew across the island about the state of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority. It is the second major outage in less than a week, with the previous one affecting some 840,000 customers.

“This is too much,” said Luis Oscar Rivera, a 42-year-old computer technician who just got normal power back at his house less than two months ago. “It’s like the first day of Maria all over again.”

Several large power outages have hit Puerto Rico in recent months, but Wednesday was the first time since the Category 4 storm struck on Sept. 20 that the U.S. territory has experienced a full island-wide blackout. It snarled traffic across the island, interrupted classes and work and forced dozens of businesses to temporarily close, including the island’s largest mall and popular tourist attractions like a 16th-century fort in the historic part of Puerto Rico’s capital.

Backup generators roared to life at the island’s largest public hospital and at its main international airport, where officials reported no cancellations or delays. Meanwhile, the power company said its own customer service center was out of service and asked people to go online or use the phone.

Officials said restoring power to hospitals, airports, banking centers and water pumping systems was their priority. Following that would be businesses and then homes.

Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of the capital of San Juan, said the outage would not interrupt the last of a two-game series between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, which is being played on the island. She said all emergency systems at Hiram Bithorn stadium are functioning and that tower lights and additional security will be placed at the stadium’s parking lot.

Justo Gonzalez, the power company’s executive sub-director, told reporters that a private contractor removing a collapsed tower during unrelated power restoration efforts near the south coast hit the transmission line on Wednesday with an excavator.

“We are working in areas that are quite crowded with high voltage lines,” he said.

It is the second such incident in less than a week. On Thursday, a tree fell on a power line as the same private contractor cleared land in central Puerto Rico, leading to a widespread power outage. A backup line that was supposed to prevent that outage failed.

Fredyson Martinez, vice president of a union that represents power company workers in Puerto Rico, told The Associated Press that he was concerned about the two back-to-back incidents.

“That is not normal,” he said.

Government officials said that a company hired by Cobra Energy known as Dgrimm was involved in both incidents that led to the power outages. Dgrimm had been asked to change its security protocols after the first incident, and it has since been terminated, said William Rios, power generation director.

“This is unacceptable for us,” he said, adding that government attorneys are meeting with officials at Cobra Energy, a Mammoth Energy subsidiary hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help with power restoration efforts.

Angel Figueroa, president of the power workers’ union, told reporters workers are investigating why a backup breaker at a main power station in the island’s southern region did not function when the outage occurred, causing the entire electrical grid to shut down to protect itself. He noted it was the same problem that caused a 2016 power outage that affected the entire island.

Geraldo Quinones, a power company spokesman, said in a phone interview that crews are investigating why the breaker failed.

Rivera said he worries that such serious power outages are still occurring as the new Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1, approaches.

“If there’s a slight storm, we’re going to be worse off than we are right now,” he said.

Federal officials who testified before Congress last week said they expect to have a plan by June on how to strengthen and stabilize the island’s power grid, noting that up to 75 percent of distribution lines were damaged by high winds and flooding. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the federal power restoration efforts, said they hope to have the entire island fully energized by May. Some 40,000 power customers still remain without normal electrical service as a result of the hurricane.

The new blackout occurred as Puerto Rico legislators debate a bill that would privatize the island’s power company, which is $14 billion in debt and relies on infrastructure nearly three times older than the industry average. </s> Puerto Rico residents haven't had it easy lately. Back in September, Hurricane Maria tore across the island, knocking out power island-wide and leaving dozens dead or wounded.

While the US government and companies like Tesla have successfully stepped in to help Puerto Rico get its electrical grid back up and running, 10 percent of the island's citizens were still without power as of February 2018.

Unfortunately, bad luck has struck Puerto Rico again. According to an Associated Press report, the territory is suffering yet another island-wide blackout. This time, the outage was reportedly caused by an excavator "accidentally [downing]" a transmission line.

It's certainly troubling that damage to a single power line can cause an island-wide blackout but there's good news this time around - Puerto Rico officials say it will only take "24 to 36" hours to restore power to the majority of affected citizens.

For now, Puerto Rico's government is prioritizing the restoration of power to critical locations like hospitals, emergency service buildings, airports and water pumping systems. This is a smart move, given the fact that many of these locations are currently relying on backup generators to function. </s> A huge blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving millions of citizens without power, as investigators look into fixing of the outage.

The Electric Power Authority, which provides electricity for the entire island, say they expect power to be restored by Thursday.

The blackout was caused by a fire started by energy switches at a major facility in Aguirre which damaged power lines. That facility serves a majority of island residents.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said the fire began in a switch and destroyed a system that provides 30 percent of Puerto Rico’s overall power, according to the Sentinel.

The power company said two transmission lines of 230 thousand volts have been damaged. The blackout began at about 2:30 p.m., Univision reported.

The company said in a press release that no injuries had been reported and the fire was controlled.

The power company’s executive director said during a press conference that power lines are being inspected and they have activated a plan to restore service.

Each unit at the facility will be energized “sequentially” in order to jumpstart available electricity generation. Restoring service to hospitals, airports, police stations and Aqueducts and Sewers Authority plants will be the priority, according to a press release.

“We are working hard to achieve recovery [of the] system and restore service to our customers,” said Javier Quintana Mendez. “We ask the public to remain calm in this situation and our colleagues remind you the most important thing is the safety of everyone.”

According to the AEMEAD, an emergency and disaster agency in Puerto Rico, the fire was brought under control around 5 p.m.

El Nuevo Dia newspaper first reported that a failure in transmission at the Aguirre site caused a “total collapse of the system” which led to loss of power.

An energy switch at the facility which distributes energy seemed to be the cause, according to El Nuevo Dia.

The power outage angered many Puerto Ricans who on average, pay power bills that are twice as costly as bills on the U.S. mainland, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Electric Power Authority has faced numerous allegations of corruption, according to the Sentinel. They are facing a $9 billion debt and officials say they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is old equipment. </s> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A big fire erupted at an electricity plant that powers most of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, causing a blackout that swept across the U.S. territory of 3.5 million people.

The Electric Power Authority said two transmission lines of 230,000 volts each failed. Executive Director Javier Quintana told reporters that he expected most power to be restored by Thursday morning.

Puerto Rico's fire department said it had extinguished the blaze at the southern power plant, which serves a majority of customers on the island.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla told reporters the fire began in a switch and initially destroyed a system that provides 30 percent of Puerto Rico's overall power.

"This is a very serious event," he said. "The system is not designed to withstand a failure of this magnitude."

He did not directly answer a question about whether the power company has any kind of backup should another similar situation occur, or if the island was hit by a major hurricane.

"I assume complete responsibility," Garcia said of the outage. "Everyone knows that the company's maintenance problems began decades ago."

The power company is struggling with a $9 billion debt that it hopes to restructure as it faces numerous corruption allegations. Company officials have said they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is outdated equipment.

Garcia, however, said that no amount of money or maintenance would have prevented the fire.

Authorities said the outage caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators, including at the upscale Vanderbilt hotel in the popular tourist area of Condado and at the mayor's office in the northern coastal town of Catano. All those fires were put out and no one was injured, officials said. .

The outage also affected water service across the island, with officials urging customers to be prudent in their usage.

The blackout snarled road traffic and the government had to cancel train service in the capital of San Juan and close a busy traffic tunnel in the south. Businesses, universities and government offices shuttered early, creating even more chaos on roads. A police officer directing traffic was hit and taken to the hospital.

"I call on people to cooperate and respect drivers and government officials ... to avoid any regrettable incidents," Transportation Secretary Miguel Torres said.

The outage angered many Puerto Ricans who are struggling with power bills that are on average twice that of the U.S. mainland. People took to social media to demand where exactly their money is going.

Puerto Rico is mired in a decade-long economic slump, and a newly created federal control board is working to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt that the governor has said is unpayable. </s> Puerto Rico was hit by an island-wide blackout Wednesday when... </s> Puerto Rico is plunged into an island-wide blackout yet again

The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria has yet to be fully addressed in Puerto Rico, but now, the island is contending with yet another power-related problem. On Wednesday, an islandwide blackout plunged Puerto Rico into darkness.

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This post was syndicated from Digital Trends. Click here to read the full text on the original website. </s> An island-wide blackout has hit Puerto Rico, which is struggling with an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria hit the U.S. territory </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Blackout left parts of San Juan in the dark

A big fire at a power plant has left 1.5 million people without electricity in the US territory of Puerto Rico.

The fire affected two transmission lines and caused the collapse of the electricity system across the island, officials say.

Supply is expected to be restored to most areas on Thursday.

Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority has been undergoing restructuring and is seeking funds to update what it says is outdated equipment.

The fire department said it had extinguished the blaze at the power plant in the south of the island, which serves most of the island's 3.5 million people.

The cause of the fire is still unclear.

Image copyright Reuters

Image copyright Reuters

There was traffic chaos as the outage forced schools and businesses to close earlier, reports say.

The blackout also caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators.
Puerto Rico experiences an island-wide blackout after an excavator accidentally downs a transmission line.