Puerto Ricans celebrate as power slowly returns
While those with power celebrated a return to normalcy, others lamented having to face another night in darkness with no air conditioning in the tropical heat. Most Puerto Ricans don’t have generators, and many expected again to drag mattresses out to balconies and porches to spend the night outside.
“It’s been horrible,” said San Juan resident Elizabeth Maldonado, adding that she was resigned to another sleepless night. “I take showers every three hours at night to stay re- freshed.”
For those who could afford it, hotels offered special rates for residents.
As sunset approached on Thursday, long lines formed at ice plants, supermarkets and gas stations. Elsewhere, people crouched around power outlets at generator-powered supermarkets and malls to charge cellphones.
Traffic lights remained dark most of Thursday, and police officers stood in the streets directing traffic all day, some in downpours. Workers at the main international airport filled out luggage tickets by hand.
The governor said at least one person died the first night from exposure to carbon monoxide after setting up a generator.
A 76-year-old man was taken to the hospital in good condition after spending the night trapped in an elevator at a government building, Garcia said. Also, four police officers were hit while directing traffic but were expected to recover.
The Electric Power Authority said it was trying to determine what caused the fire at the Aguirre power plant in the southern town of Salinas.
The fire knocked out two transmission lines that serve the broader grid, which tripped circuit breakers that automatically shut down the flow of power as a preventive measure, officials said.
Executive director Javier Quintana said a preliminary investigation suggests that a failure on one transmission line that might have been caused by lightning caused the switch to explode.
Garcia rejected suggestions the blackout was caused by maintenance problems that have plagued the utility for years, largely a result of the island’s economic and fiscal crisis. He said the switch where the fire happened had been properly maintained.
It was not yet clear how much damage the fire caused. The utility is struggling with a $9 billion debt that it hopes to restructure as it faces corruption allegations.