Puerto Rico governor says island working to restore power
Sept 22 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's governor on Thursday said the island's power utility hoped to restore electricity to about half its 1.5 million customers by the afternoon, after a fire at an energy plant knocked out electricity for the bulk of the island.
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said power had already been restored to about 130,000 people.
The power authority, PREPA, said in a statement on Wednesday that two power lines, each 230,000 volts, failed for reasons still being determined.
Garcia Padilla said there would be no classes in public schools or on University of Puerto Rico campuses on Thursday.
PREPA plants are largely outdated, and the agency has debt of more than $8 billion. Garcia Padilla said the switch where the fire occurred was correctly maintained.
Puerto Rico, home to 3.5 million American citizens, is trudging through an economic crisis, burdened by $70 billion of debt and rampant migration as residents flock to the U.S. mainland. (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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