/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57235637/yochi_toned.0.jpg)
It is for first time after Hurricane Maria that hit in September 2017, Puerto Rico experienced another massive power cut that undermining the fragile progress of electricity to restore power in the past six months.
Last week, there were more than 800,000 Puerto Rico utility customers lost power when a single tree fell on a transmission line. A month earlier, another power failure affected hundreds of thousands, while a substation fire crippled power plants in February.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said that it could be 24 to 36 hours before power is restored to the areas that had it. The electricity board priorities to get electricity back to hospitals, the San Juan Airport, water systems, and financial centers, which are now running on generators.
It has affected 3.3 million residents in Puerto Rico and also in travel and tourism industry.
San Juan Airport is now running on generators but there are no airline delays or cancellation reported yet.
The power outage scrambled the traffic across the island, interrupted classes and work, and forced dozens of businesses to temporarily close, including the largest mall and popular tourist attractions like a 16th century fort in the historic part of Puerto Rico’s capital.
The long queues formed stations across Puerto Rico, while electricity supply authorities offered promised that there was enough gasoline available.
The backup generators are active in largest public hospital. Meanwhile, the power company said its own customer service center was out of service and asked people to go online or use the phone.
The officials said that the restoring power to hospitals, airports, banking centres and water pumping systems was their priority. Following that would be businesses and then homes.
By late in the afternoon, power had returned to several hospitals and at least five of the island’s 78 municipalities.
Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of the capital of San Juan, said the outage would not interrupt the last of a two-game series between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, which is being played on the island.
She said all emergency systems at Hiram Bithorn stadium are functioning and that tower lights and additional security will be placed at the stadium’s parking lot.
