April 18 (UPI) — Electrical power was restored Friday to nearly 99% of customers less than 48 hours after an island-wide outage, according to a statement from private energy company LUMA.
“As of 5:00 a.m. on April 18, LUMA had restored power to 1,450,367 customers, representing 98.8%, in less than 48 hours since the island-wide outage,” LUMA Energy said in an X statement. “LUMA remains focused on completing the restoration and will continue work until all customers have service.”
The power failure seems to have occurred for several reasons including a failure of the protection system and vegetation on a transmission line along Puerto Rico’s northern coast.
The blackout happened Wednesday afternoon.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon said it appeared to have originated between EcoElectrica and Costa Sur as well as in additional transmission segments.
“The company continues to prioritize restoring critical infrastructure, including hospitals, water plants, airports, and emergency services,” LUMA said.
It said some customers could continue to experience temporary outages due to limited generation.
LUMA said between 98% and 100% of hospitals in most regions have power restored and all of the correctional facilities and airports have power restored.
This week’s blackout is the latest in a series of power outages since 2017 when Hurricane Maria wiped out large sections of the island’s power grid.
Another island-wide blackout occurred last New year’s Eve and lasted for two days.