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The World Socialist Web Site reports
The entire US territory of Puerto Rico suffered a blackout beginning [September 21] after a fire caused a substation to break down. The plant had not been repaired in decades and the cause of the fire is unclear, although a lightning storm is thought to be responsible.
Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla told reporters Friday morning [September 23] that 75 percent of the island's 1.5 million homes and businesses had electricity restored, and that the entire system would be returned to normal only by Saturday, 72 hours after the power went out. During the press conference at the island's emergency management center, the lights went out briefly prompting laughter from the assembled reporters. Padilla was forced to admit that periodic blackouts and shortages would still occur as the demand for electricity increases.
The blackout shut down the entire island of 3.5 million people.
[...] Authorities warned that tropical storms could still knock out power lines and black out areas that had power restored. An estimated 250,000 people don't have access to water.
Temperatures were recorded at 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday, causing many Puerto Ricans to sleep outdoors for the third night in a row. Residents formed long lines outside of grocery stores to get ice, a precious commodity, and recharge their cell phones.
Hotels in the capital San Juan offered special rates to island residents but were soon booked up. At least one person died from carbon monoxide poisoning after fixing up a personal power generator in their home. An elderly man was also taken to the hospital after spending the night in a stuck elevator, and at least four police officer were hit by cars while trying to direct traffic; they are all expected to recover.
While local power outages are common in Puerto Rico, an island-wide blackout is extremely rare.
[...] The Electric Power Authority, which oversees the Aguirre power plant in the southern town of Salinas, is still investigating what caused the fire. Two transmission lines were knocked down, causing circuit breakers to automatically shut down as a safety measure, affecting the broader power grid.
Additional Coverage:
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NPR
USA Today
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 25 2016, @07:34PM
With the World Socialist Web Site being the source, it should come as no surprise that the topics of labor and economics came up in the article (though I left those out of the summary).
The author points to Puerto Rico's economic doldrums, high unemployment, and USA's colonialism as underlying reasons for the lack of proper maintenance on their systems.
Additionally, there's the factor that those Puerto Ricans with the most ambition and/or insight (who are USA citizens by birth) continue to move to the mainland.
The way the District of Columbia is under the thumb of USA.gov, but isn't a state, also causes problems there related to a lack of sovereignty.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 26 2016, @12:26AM
So you're saying they lost power because they didn't take power.
(Score: 2) by BK on Monday September 26 2016, @02:29AM
Puerto Rico has had the opportunity to become a state or to become independent on more than one occasion. To the extent that colonialism and lack of sovereignty are issues... at this point I blame the people of Puerto Rico.
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 26 2016, @07:11PM
In the same war of USA aggression (The Spanish-American War) which gained USA possession of Puerto Rico, USA also took control of the Philippines.
The Philippines has been an independent nation since 1946.
"Colonialism" goes way beyond "not granting statehood".
The binary choice that you think is acceptable is not OK with a significant portion of the populous of Puerto Rico.
...or is it that you recognize a 3rd option and are suggesting armed insurrection against the most expensive assemblage of military power to ever have existed on the planet?
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]