San Juan, Puerto Rico – A blackout throughout the island hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday when largely Catholics residents of the United States territory prepared to celebrate Easter weekend, said a spokesman for the electric company.
The 1.4 million customers on the island were without energy, told Associated Press, Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy, which supervises the transmission and distribution of energy. “The whole island is without generation,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what the closure caused, the last thing in a series of large blackouts on the island in recent years. Governor Jenniffer González, who was traveling, said the officials were “working diligently” to address the interruption.
Dozens of people were forced to walk next to the rails of the rapid traffic system that serves the capital, San Juan, while business dozens, including the largest shopping center in the Caribbean, were forced to close. Professional baseball and basketball games were canceled when the buzzing of the generators and the smell of smoke filled the air.
The last blackout throughout the island It happened on the eve of the New Year. Puerto Rico has fought with chronic interruptions since September 2017 when Hurricane Maria They hit the island like a powerful category 4 storm, dragging an electric grid that the equipment is still struggling to rebuild.
The grid had already deteriorated as a result of lack of maintenance and investment.
