SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A blackout hit nearly all of Puerto Rico early on Tuesday as the U.S. territory prepared to celebrate New Year’s, leaving more than 1.3 million clients in the dark. Officials said it could take up to two days to restore power.
The outage hit at dawn, plunging the island into an eerie silence as electrical appliances and air conditioners shut down before those who could afford generators turned them on.
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A lamp powered by a generator illuminates a sidewalk during a blackout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after sunset Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A horse rider uses a cell phone along a dark street during a blackout in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, after sunset Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A street is dark during a blackout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
FILE - Business owners turn to their power generators to be able to keep working during an island-wide blackout, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
FILE - A utility pole with loose cables towers over a home in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sept. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo, File)
“It had to be on the 31st of December!” exclaimed one man, who only gave his name as Manuel, as he stood outside a grocery store in the capital of San Juan, grumbling about the outage that coincided with his birthday. “There is no happiness.”
Nearly 90% of 1.47 million clients across Puerto Rico were left in the dark, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution.
By late Tuesday night, more than 700,000 clients, including 16 hospitals and Puerto Rico's water and sewer company, had power back, according to Luma. However, the company's webpage detailing who remained without power was down.
"We understand the deep frustration this outage has caused, especially on a day like today," Luma said in a statement. “We apologize for the disruption to your plans.”
Luma said the power outage was likely caused by a failure of an underground power line. It said it's restoring power “in the quickest and safest way possible.” Hugo Sorrentini, a Luma spokesman, told The Associated Press that the incident was under investigation.
Discover Puerto Rico, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the island, warned travelers about the outage on its website and asked that cruise ship passengers contact tour operators directly to determine whether they had generators and were open for the day.
Five cruise ships were scheduled to dock in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. While most hotels were running on generators, short-term rentals lacking them reported cancellations. The main international airport in San Juan remained open.
The blackout fanned simmering anger against Luma and Genera PR, which oversees the generation of power in Puerto Rico, as a growing number of people call for their ouster.
Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, who is set to be sworn in on Jan. 2, has called for the creation of an “energy czar” to review potential Luma contractual breaches while another operator is found.
“We can’t keep relying on an energy system that fails our people,” she wrote on the social media platform X, adding that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid would be her top priority in office.
Meanwhile, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said he was in touch with Luma and Genera PR, adding on X that “we are demanding answers and solutions.”
President Joe Biden spoke with Pierluisi on Tuesday evening about the outage and offered federal assistance. Biden also spoke with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and directed her to offer any help needed to speed power restoration on the island.
The outage forced businesses, parks and several malls to close, and the government announced limited schedules for some of its agencies. Workers checked on hundreds of bedridden patients and distributed ice for diabetics to keep their insulin cold.
Other Puerto Ricans began to plan ahead.
“I'll go to my balcony. That's where I'll sleep,” Raúl Pacheco said with a shrug, as the 63-year-old diabetic sat on a walker nursing an injured foot.
Julio Córdova, a municipal worker, said he got dressed by the light of his cellphone and planned to buy candles.
“This affects me because I had plans. It couldn't have been yesterday or tomorrow?" he said, shaking his head as he raked leaves.
While island-wide blackouts are rare in Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory struggles with chronic power outages blamed on a crumbling power grid that was razed by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.
The system, however, was already in decline after years of lack of maintenance and investment.
Only recently did crews start making permanent repairs to Puerto Rico’s power grid following Hurricane Maria. The island continues to depend on generators provided by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to help stabilize the grid.
In November, Puerto Rico’s government asked U.S. officials for permission to keep using more than a dozen portable generators for two additional years.
Some Puerto Ricans took the latest outage in stride.
“They're part of my everyday life,” said Enid Núñez, 49, who said she ate breakfast before work thanks to a small gas stove she bought for such events.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority struggles to restructure more than $9 billion in debt, the largest of the island's government agencies.
Power plants that rely on petroleum generate more than 60% of Puerto Rico's energy, followed by natural gas and coal. Solar rooftops account for only about 7% of electricity consumption on an island with a poverty rate over 40%.
A lamp powered by a generator illuminates a sidewalk during a blackout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after sunset Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A horse rider uses a cell phone along a dark street during a blackout in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, after sunset Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A street is dark during a blackout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
FILE - Business owners turn to their power generators to be able to keep working during an island-wide blackout, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
FILE - A utility pole with loose cables towers over a home in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sept. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the 119th Congress is sworn in Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson will fight for his political life — again.
While the Louisiana Republican has the support of President-elect Donald Trump, it will be House Republicans who will decide whether to reelect him to his post as speaker of the House. Far-right Republicans have at times grown frustrated with Johnson’s leadership and are prone to demanding concessions when their votes become essential.
A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker.
Here's the latest:
The next speaker must receive a majority of the votes cast. If not, balloting continues until someone meets that threshold.
Two years ago, it took Kevin McCarthy 15 rounds of balloting before he gained enough support to take the gavel.
Those voting won their election in November, but they cannot take the oath of office until a new speaker has been elected.
New and returning lawmakers donned their Sunday best to the first day of the new Congress, with many of the women adhering to the traditional colors of their political party.
Red ties and dresses for Republican members can be seen scattered across the House floor while across the aisle Democratic women styled various shades of blue.
Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, 220-215, having lost seats in the November election.
The abrupt resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida drops his tally to 220.
That leaves him relying on almost every Republican for support in the face of Democratic opposition, though the typical 218 majority needed could shift with absences and others voting only “present.”
Before his election for speaker can begin, Speaker Mike Johnson opened Friday’s session by declaring that the 118th Congress has come to a close.
On his way to the House floor earlier, he was asked by reporters if he will win the speakership during the first round of voting.
“I hope so. We’ll see,” he said.
Lawmakers are quickly filtering into the House chambers for the start of the 119th Congress, where the first order of business will be a quorum call and then a roll call vote to elect the next speaker.
For now, it’s a festive atmosphere with many lawmakers bringing their children onto the House floor with them to take in some history.
Soon, it will become more serious as the speaker vote is held.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., has the backing of President-elect Donald Trump, but can’t afford hardly any holdouts from the Republican side of the room if he hopes to return to holding the gavel.
Democratic lawmakers are standing and applauding as Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi has entered the House chamber as a new Congress begins to gather.
The former speaker had hip replacement surgery recently at a U.S. military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress.
The former speaker walked gingerly to a seat in the middle of the chamber. Several colleagues moved quickly to greet her.
New and returning lawmakers walked around the chamber, taking selfies with their children and families ahead of what is expected to be a contentious few hours as Republicans fight amongst themselves to elect a speaker.
Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, 220-215, having lost seats in the November election. That leaves him relying on almost every Republican for support in the face of Democratic opposition.
Here’s a look at some of the Republicans who’ve signaled they may vote against him:
The speaker’s election is set to dominate the opening of the new Congress, but the day will also bring a roster of history-making members.
In the Senate, two Black women — Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — will be sworn in, the first time in the nation’s history two Black women senators will serve at the same time.
Sen.-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey also is making history as the first Korean American to join the chamber.
In the House, Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person in the Congress.
And Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who recently suffered a fall overseas and underwent hip replacement surgery, will make her own return to Washington, a reminder of the power she wielded when Democrats last held the majority.
The speakership has been vacant only 13 times in U.S. history, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. No speaker had ever been removed until eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy.
Barring those instances, a speaker is normally elected at the start of a new Congress and serves in the job for the full two-year session.
House Speaker Mike Johnson walked into the Capitol on Friday morning seemingly optimistic about his chances of being reelected speaker by his conference despite growing frustrations amongst far-right members of the party.
When asked by a reporter what his message was to his holdouts, the Louisiana Republican said, “We need to unify,” adding that the speaker election “is not just about one person but about moving forward with the America First agenda, the mandate given forward by the American people.”
Johnson denied that he was making any back-door deals.
“There is no quid pro quo here. I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible,” he said.
President-elect Donald Trump called the U.S. House speaker “a fine man of great ability” and wished him good luck on Friday, when the new Congress convenes and Republican lawmakers will decide whether to reelect Mike Johnson to lead their party.
Trump endorsed the Louisiana Republican earlier this week, but whether that support will be enough is unclear. Trump said Johnson “is very close to having 100% support,” but some members of the far right have grown increasingly frustrated with Johnson’s leadership and his handling of funding fights such as the recent short-term spending bill.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival but Trump’s ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as Republicans sweep to power in Washington.
A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil if there is no speaker.
Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, having lost seats in the November election, leaving him relying on almost every Republican for support and with nearly no votes to spare.
Electing a speaker is the first order of business for the U.S. House after a new session of Congress begins at noon. It’s a vote that members take even before being sworn into office.
The House cannot organize until it has a speaker because that person effectively serves as the House’s presiding officer and the institution’s administrative head. The House can elect a new speaker at any time if the person occupying that role dies, resigns or is removed from office.
FILE - Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., takes the oath to be the new House speaker from the Dean of the House Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
