Puerto Rico warned to brace for nonstop summer blackouts as power grid crumbles

23:03 ET, 01 May 2025Updated 23:03 ET, 01 May 2025

Puerto Rico may be in trouble this summer as their electric infrastructure company announced four times as many blackouts as they try and fix their system(Image: AP)

The electric company in charge of Puerto Rico's electricity grid announced that residents should expect four times as many blackouts this coming summer, two weeks after another major blackout hit the entire island.

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According to a resident interviewed by The Mirror, there were 20 major blackouts in some areas between May and September last summer. LUMA, the company that operates the transmission and distribution system in Puerto Rico promises around 90 this summer in the same time frame. The news comes just a month ahead of hurricane season, which starts in June. Storms could make the instability even worse.

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Puerto Rico's governor, Jenniffer Gonzalez, 'accepted LUMA's projections' that under the current scenario, "load shifts due to a lack of electricity production could be four times more frequent this coming summer than last year," reports local outlet El Nuevo Dia.

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More blackouts are in store for the residents of Puerto Rico(Image: Getty Images)

For decades, Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority did not carry out the maintenance and investments the grid required.

It began crumbling over the years, and then on Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the U.S. territory as a powerful Category 4 storm. It snapped power lines, toppled transmission towers and broke flimsy wooden light posts, leaving some people without power for nearly a year.

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In the months that followed, crews focused on emergency repairs. It wasn’t until a couple years after the hurricane that actual reconstruction began. In June 2021, the Electric Power Authority contracted Luma as it struggled to restructure its more than $9 billion debt, with negotiations still ongoing.

Vehicles navigate a dark street in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, during an island-wide blackout, Wednesday, April 16, 2025(Image: AP)

In January 2023, the authority contracted Genera PR to oversee power generation on the island as part of another public-private partnership. Puerto Rico has been plagued by chronic power outages since Maria, with photographs and videos of transmission lines on fire becoming increasingly common.

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Governor Jennifer Gonzalez ran on a campaign that included getting rid of LUMA. However, once elected, she announced that it would be hard to do because of the 15-year contract that says LUMA Energy would manage Puerto Rico's essential electrical infrastructure (except power plants) in exchange for USD 1.5 billion. Cancelling the contract outright may mean that Puero Rico will have to pay millions.

A person shops at a supermarket during a massive power blackout in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Also, a new company that can manage electrical delivery to the island's three million residents. Blackouts are a common problem. One resident explains, "It's frustrating every time it happens. If I have done my groceries... I know I have to get as much as I can in bags and go to my parent's or a friend's that has a power generator so I don't lose all my food. And obviously, it will be hot in the island, it will be worse in summer months, so going to sleep is uncomfortable. Lack of sleep affects people, mental health is affected for everyone in some way."

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She continued, "Most of the people in PR live paycheck to paycheck, and losing all their groceries can heavily affect their house. People that depend on medical devices for quality of life are deeply affected. Last week, a lady was seen outside a supermarket plugging in her medical device so that she could get her treatment."

According to Governor Gonzalez, a major outage, like the latest one, causes an estimated $215 million revenue loss daily for businesses and taxes for the territory.