Island-wide outage adds to the misery

PUERTO RICO dark.

The entire island lost power Wednesday and was expected to be without electricity for 24 to 36 hours after a private contractor hit a transmission line with an excavator, according to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

The blackout came seven months after Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico, destroying its electric grid and causing a blackout that lasted for months.

Classes were interrupted and businesses closed Wednesday, while backup generators were used to power the island’s largest public hospital and its main international airport in San Juan.

Officials focused on restoring power to hospitals, airports, banking centers and water pumping systems before businesses and homes.

A scheduled baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins was played at night as emergency systems at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium kicked in.

Frequent outages are still common since Maria hit in late September. Last week, a tree fell on a power line in central Puerto Rico, causing a widespread power failure. is back in the