This is what we learned about the thousands of people who went without electricity after a failure in Costa Rica

After 8:30 pm on Wednesday, an apparent failure at the Costa Sur plant caused a major blackout across Puerto Rico, leaving thousands of subscribers without electricity.

The Electricity Authority (PREPA) has already warned that it could take more than 12 hours to restore the system. For its part, the LUMA Energy Consortium has already begun resuming service in some parts of the island.

So far we know this:

A general power outage followed a fire at a Costa Rican factory in Quanilla tonight. The specific reasons for the failure are not yet known. LUMA resistor is “potentially” the cause of a circuit breaker failure. For its part, PREPA reported that – through its social networks – the “breaker” or output switch of Costa Surin Unit # 5 had erred in shutting down the 230 thousand volt plant.
The Puerto Rico Fire Department tried to put out the fire.
The public company noted that it could take about 12 hours to reset the system.
Meanwhile, the federation responsible for power distribution and transmission in Puerto Rico has announced that service has been restored in the southeastern part of Puerto Rico, particularly in Yapukova.
LUMA added, “The next step is to run high voltage lines to the Aguirre power plant in Salinas. We add generation at the Palo Seco plant. Once Palo Seco is energized, we will operate the Monacilos substation and begin to retrieve important customers in the metropolitan area. “
The Water and Sewerage Authority (AAA) reports that many parts of Puerto Rico were left without water service tonight due to a power outage. Immediately, it was not specified how many departments or subscribers saw their water service interrupted.
Mayra Olavarría Cruz, interim president of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), said in a written statement that all campuses would enter academic and administrative breaks due to the failure of the Costa Sur plant in Guanilla.
The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC) announced tonight that classes will be canceled from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm tomorrow, Thursday, due to a general outage caused by a fault at the Costa Sur power station in Guayanilla.

The crash was reported at 8:30 pm at the switch yard of the Costa Sur power plant in Guanila. (David Wilfen Ramos)
The error caused power outages throughout Puerto Rico, confirmed by UTIER’s chairman Angel Fikurova Jarmilo and the LUMA Energy Group. (David Wilfen Ramos)
Jaramillo also released a video of a fire in the Costa Sur area. (David Wilfen Ramos)
PREPA clarified on its Twitter account that it could take about 12 hours to restore service in all municipalities of Puerto Rico. (David Wilfen Ramos)
At the moment, both PREPA and LUMA Energy are exploring what caused the incident that caused the general blackout. (David Wilfen Ramos)
Photographs show areas of San Juan and Sanders in the dark due to general darkness. (David Wilfen Ramos)
Louis Munoz Marin International Airport was also left without electricity, where hundreds of passengers are waiting to board a plane or return home after a journey. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
Fortunately, there are security systems at the airport, so operations should not be compromised. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
Piedmont, like other parts of Puerto Rico, is in darkness due to darkness. (Xavier Garcia)
Despite the breakdown, the public continues to travel the shooting tracks. (Xavier Garcia)
At this time, it is unknown how long it will take to restore the PREPA and LUMA service. (Xavier Garcia)
View of a field of biomon without electricity. (Xavier Garcia)
Many businesses in Biamon have opened their doors by working with power plants. (Xavier Garcia)
Ray Patillo Plaza, director of the Municipal Office for Emergency Management (OMME), arrived with his staff at the Costa Sur plant to assist the fire department bureau in extinguishing the fire. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
At 10:00 p.m., a fire was reported in an area of the plant that was able to be extinguished, the fire department said. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
At 11:00 pm, Luma Energy announced that it had begun restoring power to various departments in Puerto Rico. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
At this time, officials did not specify whether the injuries were the result of a fire at the Costa Sur plant. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
Picture of a fire truck at the main entrance to the Costa Sir Plant. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
The photo shows the area where the fire broke out at the Costa Sir plant. (George A. Ramirez Portella)
View of conditions after dark in the pizza pirata business in Old San Juan. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
View of Platica de Saunders during a power outage. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
On the night of April 6, 2022, a business in Platica de Saunders during a major blackout. Photo: [email protected] Ramon “Donito” Jayas / GFR Media (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
View of a dark street in Carolina. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
View of conditions after dark in the pizza pirata business in Old San Juan. (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
View of traffic on Baldorotti di Castro Avenue during a power outage. Photo: [email protected] Ramon “Donito” Jayas / GFR Media (Ramon “Donito” Jayas)
View of De Diego Avenue in Sanders.
(Ramon “Donito” Jayas)