A Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority brigade work in a remote off-road location to repair a downed power transmission line in Ponce, Puerto Rico on November 29, 2017 (AFP)
SAN JUAN(CNN)--Puerto Rico has suffered an island-wide power outage, the country’s power authority said Wednesday -- nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and its electrical grid.
The authority said it estimates power will be restored within 24 to 36 hours. The cause of the blackout is unclear. The utility said its priority was to restore service to hospitals, San Juan's airport, water pumping systems and banks.
The massive outage comes less than a week after a fallen tree knocked out service to 870,000 customers, about half the power authority's clients, across a broad swath of the US territory. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a frequent critic of recovery efforts since the September hurricane, tweeted Wednesday: "The entire electrical system in Puerto Rico collapses AGAIN! Back to September 20th."
The mayor said backup systems and mobile tower lights will allow Wednesday night's baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins to go on as planned at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Puerto Rico, home to more than 3 million US citizens, has grappled with widespread power outages for months since Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean island.
Puerto Rico's power outage is now the second-largest blackout in history
Puerto Rico has lost 3.4 billion customer-hours of electricity service due to Maria, according to an analysis released Thursday by the economic data analytics and policy firm Rhodium Group.
It's the largest blackout in US history and the second largest in the world -- after the outage caused when Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines in 2013, killing more than 6,000 people.
Puerto Rico's power authority faced widespread criticism late last year for signing a $300 million contract to restore power with Whitefish Energy Holdings, a small Montana-based firm with only two employees at the time. The utility cancelled the contract amid public outcry, and its executive director stepped down in November.
