Puerto Rico faces second island-wide blackout of the year due to system failure

Puerto Rico experienced its second full power outage in just four months on Wednesday, following a system failure that left most of the island without electricity.

The blackout, which occurred around 12:40 p.m. local time (1640 GMT), impacted approximately 1.4 million customers, or 76% of the island's power users, according to local power providers Genera and LUMA.

LUMA, the island's energy provider, said that efforts to restore power were already underway and expected to take up to 72 hours for full service restoration. The company stated that the outage was triggered by a failure in the protection system, followed by vegetation on a transmission line between Cambalache and Manati. This series of events led to the island-wide disruption.

"Preliminary analysis points to a failure in the protection system as the first trigger for the event, followed by the presence of vegetation on a transmission line between Cambalache and Manati," LUMA explained.

Residents have expressed frustration over the island's aging power infrastructure, which has long been a source of dissatisfaction, with frequent blackouts and some of the highest electricity rates in the U.S. This marks the second major outage this year, the first being a blackout on New Year's Eve caused by a failed underground power line.

The power providers have assured the public that their teams will continue to work throughout the night to restore power as quickly as possible.