Fire, explosion at power plant leads to blackout in northern Puerto Rico
Source: CBS News
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A blackout has hit northern Puerto Rico after an explosion set off a big fire at a main power substation in the U.S. territory. Officials with the island's Electric Power Authority said late Sunday that several municipalities are without power, including parts of the capital of San Juan. It was not immediately known what caused the fire.
Heavy black smoke billowed from the substation as neighbors in the area described on social media seeing the sky turn orange following a loud explosion. San Juan Mayor Carmen Cruz tweeted that no injuries had been reported and that firefighters were on the scene.
The blackout comes as more than 400,000 power customers remain in the dark more than five months after Hurricane Maria. The Category 4 storm destroyed two-thirds of the island's power distribution system and caused up to an estimated $94 billion in damage.
Puerto Rico's governor recently announced that he plans to privatize the state-owned power company, which is $9 billion in debt and relying on infrastructure nearly three times older than the industry average. It would be the largest restructuring of a public entity in U.S. history.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-explosion-puerto-rico-power-substation-today-2018-02-11/
MustLoveBeagles
(11,636 posts)This was the last thing they needed.
BigmanPigman
(51,630 posts)Thanks to the Fucking Moron and his paper towels to the rescue.
GReedDiamond
(5,316 posts)...to a consortium of Russian oligarchs and let them worry about that shithole, instead of rebuilding P.R. being the responsibility of the U.S.A.
(insert sarcasm emoji here)
Edited for clarity.
C Moon
(12,221 posts)burrowowl
(17,651 posts)Corporations, American and foreign own us. We need a revolution!
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)or a set up?
Or is someone trying to get someone's attention?
this is some scary stuff happening and I hope everyone of my brothers and sisters in PR are going to be okay.
Ya know, some day soon?
Do we have nobody but amateurs down there getting that place back to Powered Up? Come On! I'm really starting to think something is happening right before our eyes and we aren't seeing it. What is going on down there?
We need to pay attention.
Igel
(35,359 posts)But the bets are on its just being the result of even more neglect than PR was known for before Maria. Perhaps the added burden of trying to fix so much made the lack of maintenance worse. Or maybe some animal got where it wasn't supposed to be or did something it wasn't supposed to.
(And by "animal" I really mean some sort of quadruped, probably mammalian, possibly in the order Rodentia.)
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)I think it could have been sabotage.
Or a rodent.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)remember who has refused to do the right thing by your island. Then vote them out.
BlueDog22
(366 posts)It's like Puerto Rico is getting no breaks as of recent. This sucks.
tclambert
(11,087 posts)Extreme