New company, same woes: Puerto Rico suffers power outages

A private company that took over power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico this month has struggled with widespread outages and growing anger

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A private company that took over power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico this month has struggled with widespread outages and growing anger as it scrambled to control a fire that left hundreds of thousands of clients in the dark. Officials say outages had affected more than 1 million customers so far this month, not counting those affected by the explosion and fire at a main substation in the capital of San Juan. Several mayors had declared an emergency as they distributed ice and generators to those most in need before Thursday's fire, whose cause was under investigation as officials warned it would take all night to restore power after a transformer blew. Around 700,000 clients were without power at the height of the outage, and at least 400,000 remained without electricity late Thursday. Many in Puerto Rico had hoped for a quick improvement in service, but clients complain it has gotten even worse in Luma’s first few days of operations – with problems complicated by heavy rains this week followed by the explosion.