XPost: soc.culture.puerto-rico, alt.global-warming, sac.politics   
   XPost: soc.retirement   
   From: dharris@splcenter.org   
      
   SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An explosion and fire at an electric   
   substation threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness late   
   Sunday in a setback for the U.S. territory's efforts to fully   
   restore power more than five months after Hurricane Maria   
   started the longest blackout in U.S. history.   
      
   The island's Electric Power Authority said several   
   municipalities were without power, including parts of the   
   capital, San Juan, but they were optimistic it could be restored   
   within a day as they worked to repair a substation that controls   
   voltage.   
      
   The blast illustrated the challenges of restoring a power grid   
   that was already crumbling before it was devastated by the   
   Category 4 hurricane.   
      
   In many cases, power workers are repairing equipment that should   
   have long been replaced but remained online due to the power   
   authority's yearslong financial crisis. PREPA is worth roughly   
   $4 billion, carries $9 billion in debt and has long been   
   criticized for political patronage and inefficiency. It also   
   struggled with frequent blackouts, including an island-wide   
   outage in September 2016.   
      
   It was not immediately known what caused Sunday's fire, which   
   was quickly extinguished. Officials said the explosion knocked   
   two other substations offline and caused a total loss of 400   
   megawatts worth of generation.   
      
   "We are trying to restore that as quickly as possible," the   
   company said.   
      
   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 power had been   
   restored in some areas of the city.   
      
   The blackout comes as more than 400,000 power customers remain   
   in the dark more than five months after Hurricane Maria. The   
   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 announced last month that he plans to   
   privatize the state-owned power company, which relies on   
   infrastructure nearly three times older than the industry   
   average. It would be the largest restructuring of a public   
   entity in U.S. history.   
      
   One week after his announcement, a federal control board   
   overseeing the island's finances asked that a judge authorize a   
   loan of up to $1.3 billion so the power company can keep   
   operating. The board said the company could see an estimated   
   $1.2 billion loss in revenue in the first six months after   
   Hurricane Maria.   
      
   https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/blackout-   
   hits-northern-puerto-rico-following-fire-explosion-n847031   
      
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