A massive blackout struck Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving most of the island without power and millions of people in the dark. The firefighting department said on Twitter that crews were on their way to put out a large fire at an electric plant in southern Puerto Rico that serves a majority of clients on the island of 3.5 million people. AEMEAD officials say power will first be restored to airports, hospitals and police headquarters.
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According to Telemundo, authorities have the fire under control and no injuries have been reported.
The Puerto Rican flag flies in front of Puerto Rico’s Capitol as in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He did not directly answer a question about whether the power company has any kind of backup should another similar situation occur, or if the island was hit by a major hurricane.
In some areas, the power cut has caused water to be shut off as well. “I assume complete responsibility”, Garcia said of the outage.
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The blackout comes as Prepa, its bondholders, insurance companies and fuel-line lenders are working on a deal that would reduce the utility’s $9 billion debt load through a bond exchange. Law enforcement officials were dispatched to help direct traffic and deliver aid with the power down.
