Puerto Rico Energy Authority urges reduced electricity use amid power plant outages

Josué Colón Ortiz, head of the Puerto Rico Energy Authority, called on consumers to cut electricity use between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. after two units at the Costa Sur power plant (units 5 and 6) were taken offline for repairs. Unit 5 was shut down at 2:15 a.m. to allow Genera Puerto Rico and LUMA Energy to fix a 230‑kV transmission fault, while work on unit 6 was completed and the unit was being started up for service later in the day. Ortiz warned that the reduced demand is needed to avoid service interruptions during the peak‑load period.

The authority’s request aims to preserve system reserves and limit the number of customers who might experience outages while the two units remain out of service.