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With growing frustration over consistent power outages that continue to impact Puerto Rico, residents have taken to social media to express their anger.
The latest blackout on Wednesday night left more than 340,000 people without electricity as the island faced heat warnings. Images of candles burning down and videos of neighborhoods in complete darkness flooded Puerto Rican social media feeds. The recurring outages have sparked renewed calls from residents to remove the private companies that assumed control of the island’s power infrastructure following Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017.
Another blackout in Puerto Rico, in the middle of a very hot night ( is 34°C outside right now) and people are starting to bang pots in protest!
— Lilah 🌅💛 (@xchoi_nunchix) June 13, 2024
WE HAD ENOUGH OF THE POWER COMPANY, LUMA, AND THIS GOVERNMENT
pic.twitter.com/kA39NzMCtD
Luma Energy, responsible for the power transmission and distribution system, attributed the latest outage to failures in two transmission lines between San Juan and Aguas Buenas. In response, San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero declared a state of emergency, highlighting the severe impact on vulnerable populations reliant on power for medical needs.
Luma Energy announced that by Thursday morning, over 99% of affected customers had their power restored. However, the company is also addressing a separate incident from June 2, which left tens of thousands without power and required emergency response efforts and food distribution in central and southern towns. Repairs to the faulty energy transformer causing the outage could take over a month due to logistical challenges.
Protests also erupted outside the governor’s mansion, with residents banging pots and pans to demand reliable electricity.
[AHORA] “Luma y Genera, me dañaron la nevera” “Pierluisi borrachón, no eres gobernador”
— Cynthia López Cabán 🍉 🇵🇸 (@cynthia_lope) June 13, 2024
Ciudadan@s protestan frente a la Fortaleza x los apagones pic.twitter.com/cDo2p0q9Nm