Puerto Rico Experiences a Massive Power Outage

Puerto Ricans began 2025 without power after a massive power failure of the power grid. The cause of the outage is long-lasting structural issues from both generation and distribution. The primary power companies are GeneraPR, which operates the power plants, and LUMA Energy, the Canadian-American company responsible for the transmission on the island. The CEO of Puerto Rico Power Authority (PREPA), Josue Colon, explained how a breakdown in the transmission and distribution caused generating units to stop operating. Power outages have been a long-running source of frustration for Puerto Ricans. With memories of Hurricane Maria and recent earthquakes, Puerto Ricans question the reliability of LUMA. By January 1st, service was back for about 75.9% of the total LUMA customers. Puerto Rican resident Carlos De Leon reported to CNN, “These companies just care about the profit. They don’t care about the people. They are not half of what our public service used to be. The electric company was a public service and now it’s privatized, and they don’t care about the problem. They say they’re sorry, but they’re not really sorry,” In my opinion, I believe that there needs to be a better power plant company that is reliable and trustworthy. Puerto Ricans should not have to deal with frequent power outages and uncertainty. Many people have protested LUMA Energy, and LUMA needs to take action to provide better quality service. 

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/31/us/puerto-rico-power-outage/index.html