Puerto Rico plunged into darkness again as island-wide blackout hits

Puerto Rico was hit by another massive power outage Wednesday, leaving the United States territory in the dark for a second time in four months, officials said, Report informs via ABC News.

Local power authorities, Genera and LUMA, recorded a system failure at approximately 12:40 p.m. that affected service island-wide.

In a post on X, LUMA Energy said it could take two to three days to restore service to 90% of customers -- and that the priority for now is to restore power to critical facilities, such as the Centro Médico hospital in the capital San Juan.

The private power company, which is responsible for power transmission on the island, said the massive outage appears to have been caused by a combination of factors, including a "failure in the protection system as initial trigger" and vegetation on a transmission line between the areas of Campaleche and Manatí, along the northern coast of the island.

"This sequence of failures triggered a chain of events that resulted in an island-wide outage," LUMA said in the statement.

The outage affected 1.4 million customers of LUMA Energy, impacting 76% of its customer base, the company said.

"This event once again highlights the fragility of the electrical system, something LUMA has pointed out since the beginning of its operations," the company said in the statement. "We remain committed to transforming it into a safer and more reliable system for all customers in Puerto Rico."