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A malfunction at the Monacillos Operations Center-left sectors of the San Juan metropolitan area and other towns without power.
A power outage occurred Thursday afternoon in several areas of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, and other towns in the eastern part of the Caribbean island, following an explosion at the Monacillos Technical Operations Center, an agency of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa).
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Other substations in the San Juan metropolitan area also went out of service, such as the San Juan and Palo Seco power plants. Several witnesses reported that Guaynabo, Carolina, Hato Rey, Old San Juan, Miramar, Río Piedras, Luquillo, and Las Piedras were among the blackout areas.
The Puerto Rico Fire Department has confirmed to local media its presence in the area of the explosion. "Units from DOE Hato Rey, Guaynabo, and Río Piedras are on their way to attend to the fire at the Monacillos station," they reported.
Looks like Puerto Rico's main power plant just blew up a week after it got privatized. Half of the island is without power. pic.twitter.com/VHvYJuIim4
— Paul Bohm (@paulbohm) June 10, 2021
Network users reported smoke coming out of the Electric Power Authority station as a result of the explosion. They also mentioned loud noises and the smell of burning in nearby areas. It was reported that the control panels of the San Juan and Palo Seco power plants were shut down.
Prepa was working Thursday night to repair line 41300 of the Cambalache power plant, leaving several towns in northern Puerto Rico without electricity.
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