Power plant explosion in Puerto Rico causes partial blackout
Lauren Dibble, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Much of northern Puerto Rico was cast into darkness late last Sunday, Feb.11, when an explosion and fire broke out at a main electric substation.
The cause was not immediately discovered, but areas of Puerto Rico, including the capital city, San Juan, were without power. This blackout caused a setback for the U.S. territory to fully restore power after Hurricane Maria hit the island nearly five months ago.
Citizens in the area reported seeing heavy black smoke rising from the substation after the explosion. The fire was quickly extinguished, but Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority (PREPA) said on Twitter that 400 megawatts of power generation had been lost. This is enough to power about 800 American homes.
According to CBS News, the blackout occurred as more than 400,000 power customers remain in the dark in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The Category 4 storm destroyed two-thirds of the island’s power distribution system and caused up to an estimated $94 billion in damage.
Madi Estela, junior interdisciplinary major at North Greenville University, has family living in parts of Puerto Rico that were affected by the power outage. Her grandfather, Jose Castro, reported that there was an old part being used at the power plant that hadn’t been repaired, thus causing the power outage.
Estela stated, “Power outages are a normal thing on the island. It’s very normal for the power to go out in the middle of the day in the summer.”
Her family was also affected by Hurricane Maria. “It was devastating… For us over here [in America], we could not contact our family for two to three weeks,” Estela said. The first time she was able to find out her grandma was okay was through a picture she saw on Facebook. The roads were all blocked up by debris and fallen trees.
Puerto Rican officials are hopeful that nearly all of the island will have power restored by next month. Estela believes that with the help of the U.S., power can be made a non-questionable and reliable resource for the island.
