Jobaaj Stories
Puerto Rico Power Outage Shuts Down Entire Island
Puerto Rico was hit by a massive power outage on Tuesday, April 16, 2025, leaving most of the island without electricity. The blackout began around 12:40 p.m. local time and quickly spread, cutting off power to homes, businesses, and essential services. By mid-afternoon, all of the island's power plants had shut down.
More than 1.4 million people were affected. For many residents, this brought back memories of past outages and highlighted how fragile the island’s energy system still is.
Water Services and Daily Life Disrupted
The blackout didn’t just affect electricity. At least 328,000 people also lost access to water, as electric pumps stopped working. Traffic lights went out, causing jams across busy intersections. Many stores, gas stations, and restaurants were forced to close. The outage also impacted several public offices and schools.
Although some hotels and emergency facilities ran on backup generators, most people were left in the dark, both literally and figuratively, with little information on when power would return.
What Caused the Blackout?
The outage is believed to have started with a problem in the electrical transmission system. According to Genera PR, the private company in charge of operating power plants, all major energy units shut down automatically after detecting an unknown disturbance in the system.
Genera PR said they were working to restart backup systems and investigate what caused the widespread failure. LUMA Energy, the company responsible for maintaining and distributing electricity, confirmed the blackout and said crews were working to restore power as soon as possible.
Full Restoration Could Take Days
Officials said the restoration process might take up to 72 hours. By Tuesday night, some areas began to get their power back, but much of the island remained dark.
Puerto Rico’s governor, Jenniffer González, shared updates with the public and urged residents to stay calm as crews worked around the clock to fix the issue.
A History of Power Problems
This isn’t the first time Puerto Rico has faced major outages. The island has struggled with an unreliable electrical system for years. In fact, a similar blackout happened just a few months ago on New Year’s Eve, sparking frustration across the island.
Puerto Rico’s power system relies heavily on petroleum and other fossil fuels, with only a small percentage coming from renewable sources like solar or wind. Experts and local leaders have been calling for major investments in clean energy and better infrastructure, but progress has been slow.
Many residents are now questioning whether privatizing parts of the energy system has improved things—or made them worse.
