Northeastern University chemistry professor Eugene Smotkin was in his home in the Puerto Rican residential district of Old San Juan when he, like more than a million other residents on the island, lost power on New Year’s Eve. He and his wife first noticed the power went out when the ceiling fan above their bed stopped. Smotkin considers himself among the more fortunate — his power was restored later that afternoon. Other less tourist-centric areas were hit harder by the outage and it caused headaches for many preparing for celebrations. “This became a mess for Puerto Ricans in general,” he says. “We didn’t know if we were going to have power on New Year’s Day.”
Nearly all residents have had their power restored, according to Luma Energy, the private Canadian power company that manages and operates the territory’s electrical grid. Rolling blackouts likely will occur as the system is fully brought back online.
