A blackout throughout the island hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday when largely Catholics residents of the United States territory prepared to celebrate Easter weekend, authorities said.
The 1.4 million customers on the island were without energy, told Associated Press, Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy, which supervises the transmission and distribution of energy.
“The whole island is without generation,” he said.
Meanwhile, at least 78,000 clients were without water, and officials warn that power probably won Beful restored by another 48 to 72 hours.
“This is unacceptable,” said Josué Colón, the so -called Energy of Energy of the Island and former executive director of the Puerto Rico Electricity Authority.
It was not immediately clear what the closure caused, the last thing in a series of large blackouts on the island in recent years.
Governor Jenniffer González, who was traveling, said the officials were “working diligently” to address the interruption.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans were furious for the last interruption, and many renewed their calls that the government canceled the contract with Luma and PR, which supervises the generation of energy on the island.
The boxes of people were forced to walk next to the rails of the rapid transit system that serves the capital, San Juan, while dozens of business, including the largest shopping center in the Caribbean, were forced to close.
Professional baseball and basketball games were canceled when the buzzing of the generators and the smell of smoke filled the air.
The traffic growled when police officers were deployed at occupied intersections.
For Wednesday afternoon, about 5,000 to 7,000 clients restored their power, although this number is expected to fluctuate.
Those without generators were filled with grocery stores and other companies to buy ice.
Daniel Hernández, Vice President of Operations of Genera PR, said at a press conference that a disturbance reached the transmission system shortly after noon, the moment when the network is vulnerable because there are not many machines that regulate the frequency.
Verónica Ferraiuoli, interim governor and secretary of state of Puerto Rico, said that the White House approached local officials and has said that they are avoidable if necessary.
The last blackout throughout the island occurred on the eve of the New Year.
Puerto Rico has had problems with chronic interruptions since September 2017 when Hurricane Maria hit the island as a powerful storm of category 4, sweeping an electric network that crews are still struggling to rebuild.
The grid had already deteriorated as a result of the lack of maintenance and investment.