Nearly All Of Puerto Rico Is Without Power On New Year’s Eve

Joggers exercise 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)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A blackout has hit nearly all of Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory prepares to celebrate New Year’s. More than 1.3 million clients were without electricity early on Tuesday and officials say it could take up to two days to restore power. The private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution says it appears the outage was caused by a failure in an underground power line. Puerto Rico continues to struggle with chronic power outages blamed on a crumbling power grid that was razed by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.