Power was restored to parts of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday after a nationwide power outage brought the country to a standstill, officials said.
According to the Dominican Electricity Transmission Company, a decentralized state agency, generation units at the San Pedro de Macoris and Quisquia power plants shut down, triggering a domino effect at other transmission and generation plants.
The nationwide blackout disrupted mass transit systems, including aerial cable cars and the metro in the capital, Santo Domingo, where some people were forced to abandon trains and start walking through tunnels along the railway.
Many hospitals, banks and other large institutions relied on generators to deal with power outages, while many homes and small businesses were without power.
Restoration in progress
The national power system was being gradually restored after a failure at the San Pedro I substation at 1.23 p.m. local time (1723 UTC), the state power company said in a statement, citing Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos Echavarría.
According to Energy Minister Joel Santos, about 15% of the system has been restored.
“We currently have more than 527 megawatts of electricity being generated, which represents more than 15% of national demand, and this number will continue to grow as the stabilization process progresses,” Echavarría said during a press conference held at the Energy Control Center.
“We will gradually restore power,” he said, adding that transportation and health were among the high priority areas.
What is the reason for power cut?
Officials have blamed the power grid’s transmission system for the blackout. However, the exact cause has not yet been determined.
Santos said authorities were investigating what caused the outages, adding, “The power system is complex and requires thorough analysis before issuing a final report.”
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah