Two-thirds of customers are still without electricity, while the reasons for the blackout are not yet known

The specific reasons for last night’s general blackout are still a mystery today Thursday afternoon, while two – thirds of the country continued without electricity and federation. LUMA Energy He predicted that the investigation into the incident would take a long time.

At a press conference from StrengthOf the 1.5 million LUMA customers, about 500,000 have already restored service by 5:00 pm, Interior Secretary Nolia Garcia explained.

According to Kevin Acevedo, vice president of energy affairs for the federation, the “majority” of subscribers will have the light by the end of the day, but he avoided estimating the amount and time. However, he acknowledged that there would be “pockets” of power recovery tomorrow, Friday.

“The number of (in-service customers) has increased significantly since we were on this platform (in the morning) and that is what we have been saying.Acevedo, Bayamon, Vega Baja, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Mayagüez, Ponce, Fajardo, Canovanas, Carolina and San Juan are just some of the cities that are already illuminated.

Governor Pedro Pierre Lucie, who is on an official visit to Spain – LUMA and The. Electricity Authority (PREPA) fully restores electricity service. The power outage occurred at 8.45pm last night.

The interior secretary said the target was “maintained” because of Acevedo’s errors and questions from El Niவோo Dia. “Restoration must be done quickly and no operational administration can be left out until security is assured. If the situation changes, we will ask LUMA to adjust its forecasts, but the goal is to restore service within 24 hours,” Garcia said.

For his part, Jose Cologne, Managing Director of PREPA, pointed out that in various parts of the island “we continue to synchronize units with the electrical system and power at 230 and 115 thousand volts circuits”.

At the press conference, there was about 700 MW online, which is expected to add about 300 in the next few hours.

Cologne promised that the municipal islands of Vieques and Culebra would be “powered” by a 38,000-volt submarine cable called the Big Island.

In the government tomorrow, regarding the activities for Friday, Garcia pointed out that it will be specified whether there will be classes tonight and whether non-essential public servants should go to work.

In this regard, Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos said 213 schools have been energized and the company wants to develop a plan to prioritize the opening of schools in municipalities that already have electricity.

Executive Chairman of Vin Water and Sewerage Authority (AAA), Dorial Bacon, said about 162,000 customers — out of a total of 1.3 million — were without water due to the blackout. That number once reached 182,000, but is falling as electricity returns, he said.

What are the “principles”

Asked specifically about the reasons for the blackout, Azevedo argued that 20 hours after it happened, he had not spoken to LUMA engineers stationed at the Costa Sur plant in Guanila.

“There will be theories, and we’re going to read to see if those hypotheses are correct.He said, referring to the 0082 switch of Costa Surin Unit # 5, its failure could have caused the fire.

Due to the malfunction, Unit # 6 left the plant and the security system of the entire power network was activated, thus shutting down other plants that were in operation.

“We are doing the necessary tests to see if part of the substation that is not affected by the fire can be put into service, but that is subject to responsible results. Here, nothing is going to be done in a hurry,” Acevedo continued.

Commenting on the investigation into the blackout, he commented, “It started within 24 hours and how long the process will take.”

He said the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, which controls the island’s power sector, would need a report on what happened, adding that “the report should be based on intensive research, it should be public, but they should give time for the process to take place.”

Similarly, he described the news of the blackout as “positive” because “it has reached the federal level because they can not forget us”.

At another point in the press conference, Acevedo argued that despite the increase in electricity tariffs over the past six quarters, customers are “more satisfied (with LUMA) than ever (with PREPA).”

The PREPA’s managing director refused to respond to Acevedo’s and instead chose to reaffirm that his priority was to restore service as soon as possible.

La Fortaleza said the next update would be 24 hours after the power outage.