Puerto Rico power outages affect 126,000 customers

Puerto Rico is facing significant electrical instability following the unexpected operational failure of Unit 5 at the Costa Sur power plant. LUMA Energy reported that the outage caused a peak of over 126,000 customers to lose power.

The island's electrical system continues to struggle with a structural generation deficit estimated between 700 and 850 megawatts. This gap keeps the grid near its limits, increasing the risk of outages, particularly during peak evening hours when solar generation decreases.

In addition to the unplanned outage, LUMA Energy has scheduled maintenance work across seven municipalities, including Arecibo, Bayamón, Camuy, Hatillo, Las Piedras, Patillas, and San Juan. These planned interruptions, which can last up to 12 hours, are intended to increase pole resilience, remove dangerous vegetation, and repair electrical lines and equipment.