Puerto Rico Deals With Blackout Hours Before New Year’s Day

A public transport bus drives on a dark street in San Juan, Puerto Rico after a major power outage hit the island on December 31, 2024. A major power outage plunged much of Puerto Rico into darkness Tuesday, with the US island territory's electric utility saying restoration could take up to two days. The "island-wide blackout" began at 5:30 am (0930 GMT), Luma Energy said in a social media statement.
(Photo by Ricardo ARDUENGO / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Hours before the New Year, Puerto Rico is suffering from a widespread blackout, which has left 1.3 million people in the dark.

According to reports, many residents have been left without power since 530 a.m. due to an issue at the power plant on Puerto Rico’s southern coast. LUMA, the island’s energy company, released a statement on X about the power outage. 

“LUMA will be restoring power to customers in phases. We’ve already begun the process of reenergizing some costumes, with the full restoration process taking between 24 and 48 hours as conditions permit,” the company said. 

Josué Colón, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said in an interview that the issue at the power plant “caused a cascade effect that led to multiple power plants failing.” He added that fixing the problem and restoring the power will take much of the day. 

We will keep you updated on this story when new details are developed.