Current:Home > MarketsPersistent power outages in Puerto Rico spark outrage as officials demand answers-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Persistent power outages in Puerto Rico spark outrage as officials demand answers
View Date:2024-12-23 20:51:02
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A growing number of Puerto Rican government officials on Thursday demanded answers from two private electric companies as the U.S. territory struggles with persistent power outages.
Tens of thousands of customers including schools, homes and businesses were left without electricity this week amid selective power cuts stemming from a deficit in generation, with several units out of service for maintenance.
On Thursday, lawmakers demanded that the presidents of Luma Energy, which oversees transmission and distribution of power, and Genera PR, which operates generation, appear the following day to answer questions about the ongoing outages that each company blames on the other.
“No more excuses, we don’t want any more explanations,” said Carlos Méndez, a member of the island’s House of Representatives. “The people deserve a clear and precise answer.”
On Wednesday, Luma issued a statement blaming the outages on a lack of electricity generation and crumbling infrastructure that Genera PR operates, saying “it should accept its responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Genera PR has claimed that Luma Energy requested that it reduce generation, which damaged the units currently being repaired.
Both companies were contracted after Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority privatized operations as it struggles to restructure a more than $9 billion debt load and tries to modernize aging infrastructure dating from the mid-20th century whose maintenance was long neglected.
The U.S. territory’s ombudsman, Edwin García Feliciano, called on the governor to meet with energy officials to pursue concrete action. In a statement Wednesday, García accused both companies of keeping Puerto Ricans “hostage.”
“They do not feel the urgency or rush to solve the problem,” he said.
The outages come just weeks after Tropical Storm Ernesto swiped past the island and left more than 730,000 clients without power. Crews are still making permanent repairs to the island’s electric grid after Hurricane Maria razed it in September 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm.
veryGood! (6663)
Related
- Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
- Blac Chyna Shares Update on Her Sobriety After 16-Month Journey
- How Mexico City influenced the icy Alaska mystery of ‘True Detective: Night Country’
- Mississippi lawmakers to weigh incentives for an EV battery plant that could employ 2,000
- Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
- Cuffed During Cuffing Season? Here Are The Best Valentine's Day Gifts For Those In A New Relationship
- Cuffed During Cuffing Season? Here Are The Best Valentine's Day Gifts For Those In A New Relationship
- Coroner identifies woman found dead near where small plane crashed in ocean south of San Francisco
- California teen pleads guilty in Florida to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US
- Asa Hutchinson drops out of 2024 GOP presidential race after last-place finish in Iowa
Ranking
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- Linton Quadros's Core Business Map: EIF Business School
- An investigation is underway after police raided the wrong Ohio house, sending baby to ICU
- Uber shutting down alcohol delivery app Drizly after buying it for $1.1 billion
- 'Red One' review: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans embark on a joyless search for Santa
- JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger blocked by judge over fears it would hurt competition
- The Pacific Northwest braces for a new round of ice and freezing rain after deadly weekend storm
- Supreme Court could reel in power of federal agencies with dual fights over fishing rule
Recommendation
-
The Best Gifts for People Who Don’t Want Anything
-
Justice Department report into Uvalde school shooting expected this week
-
Shark attacks 10-year-old Maryland boy during expedition in shark tank at resort in Bahamas
-
The JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger was blocked by a federal judge. Here’s what you need to know
-
Forget the bathroom. When renovating a home, a good roof is a no-brainer, experts say.
-
Mexican writer José Agustín, who chronicled rock and society in the 1960s and 70s, has died at 79
-
'More than the guiding light': Brian Barczyk dies at 54 after battling pancreatic cancer
-
Sorry, retirees: These 12 states still tax Social Security. Is yours one of them?