Image copyright Reuters Image caption Blackout left parts of San Juan in the dark

A big fire at a power plant has left 1.5 million people without electricity in the US territory of Puerto Rico.

The fire affected two transmission lines and caused the collapse of the electricity system across the island, officials say.

Supply is expected to be restored to most areas on Thursday.

Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority has been undergoing restructuring and is seeking funds to update what it says is outdated equipment.

The fire department said it had extinguished the blaze at the power plant in the south of the island, which serves most of the island's 3.5 million people.

The cause of the fire is still unclear.

Image copyright Reuters

Image copyright Reuters

There was traffic chaos as the outage forced schools and businesses to close earlier, reports say.

The blackout also caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators.</s>Fire at plant knocks out power across most of Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A fire at a major electric plant in Puerto Rico has knocked out power in almost all of the U.S. territory.

A spokeswoman for the Electric Power Authority said Wednesday that officials are trying to determine what happened. The firefighting department said on Twitter that crews were on their way to put out a large fire at an electric plant in southern Puerto Rico that serves a majority of clients on the island of 3.5 million people.

Heavy storms are affecting the area where the plant is located.

The widespread outage is snarling traffic as people prepare to leave work.

It is unclear when power would be restored.

The heavily indebted power company is undergoing a restructuring and seeking funds to update what it says is outdated equipment.</s>A huge blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving millions of citizens without power, as investigators look into fixing of the outage.

The Electric Power Authority, which provides electricity for the entire island, say they expect power to be restored by Thursday.

The blackout was caused by a fire started by energy switches at a major facility in Aguirre which damaged power lines. That facility serves a majority of island residents.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said the fire began in a switch and destroyed a system that provides 30 percent of Puerto Rico’s overall power, according to the Sentinel.

The power company said two transmission lines of 230 thousand volts have been damaged. The blackout began at about 2:30 p.m., Univision reported.

The company said in a press release that no injuries had been reported and the fire was controlled.

The power company’s executive director said during a press conference that power lines are being inspected and they have activated a plan to restore service.

Each unit at the facility will be energized “sequentially” in order to jumpstart available electricity generation. Restoring service to hospitals, airports, police stations and Aqueducts and Sewers Authority plants will be the priority, according to a press release.

“We are working hard to achieve recovery [of the] system and restore service to our customers,” said Javier Quintana Mendez. “We ask the public to remain calm in this situation and our colleagues remind you the most important thing is the safety of everyone.”

According to the AEMEAD, an emergency and disaster agency in Puerto Rico, the fire was brought under control around 5 p.m.

El Nuevo Dia newspaper first reported that a failure in transmission at the Aguirre site caused a “total collapse of the system” which led to loss of power.

An energy switch at the facility which distributes energy seemed to be the cause, according to El Nuevo Dia.

The power outage angered many Puerto Ricans who on average, pay power bills that are twice as costly as bills on the U.S. mainland, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Electric Power Authority has faced numerous allegations of corruption, according to the Sentinel. They are facing a $9 billion debt and officials say they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is old equipment.</s>SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Repair crews worked through the night trying to restore electricity to Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million people early Thursday after a fire at a power plant blacked out the entire U.S. territory.

Officials said they hoped to restore service by morning, but some schools canceled classes for the day as a precaution. The island’s largest public hospital canceled elective surgeries and non-urgent appointments, while government officials and private groups put off dozens of scheduled events.

The Electric Power Authority said investigators were trying to determine what caused the fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon at a power plant in southern Puerto Rico that serves a majority of customers on the island. The fire began at a switch and caused two transmission lines of 230,000 volts each to fail.

“This is a very serious event,” Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said. “The system is not designed to withstand a failure of this magnitude.”

The outage was the latest hit for an island mired in a decade-long economic crisis and whose government has warned it is running out of money as it seeks to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt.

Javier Quintana, the power company’s executive director, said he expected most power to be restored by morning. He said airports, hospitals, police stations and water pumping stations would get priority.

Many Puerto Ricans expressed doubts that power would be restored quickly, saying the economic slump has affected basic government services. Hundreds of people took to social media to criticize the Electric Power Authority, noting that they already pay bills on average twice that of the U.S. mainland.

It was unclear how much damage the fire caused or where the power company would obtain the money to repair or buy new equipment. The utility is struggling with a $9 billion debt that it hopes to restructure as it faces numerous corruption allegations. Company officials have said they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is outdated equipment.

The governor, however, said that no amount of money or maintenance would have prevented the fire. He said the switch where the fire began had received proper maintenance.

Authorities said Wednesday’s outage caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators, including at the upscale Vanderbilt hotel in the popular tourist area of Condado and at the mayor’s office in the northern coastal town of Catano. All those fires were extinguished and no one was injured, officials said.

The blackout knocked out traffic lights, snarling the island’s roads. Businesses, universities and government offices closed early, putting even more cars on chaotic roads. Some people opted to not go home and hotels in the capital of San Juan quickly filled up.

As the sun set, people crowded into restaurants running on generators. Others chatted with neighbors while standing or sitting at opened doors and windows trying to beat the hot night.</s>A power outage on the island has left nearly 1.5 million people without power, according to a statement from the government-run electric company AEE. The blackout is affecting most of the country, causing traffic jams and forcing business closures.

But telecommunications services are working normally and the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport continues to operate, Alejandro García Padilla, the governor of Puerto Rico, said at a news conference.

Padilla said the outage will last for hours, though some areas may get electricity back in two to four hours.

AEE said the blackout begun after a fire at its Aguierre power plant, but it is under control. No injuries have been reported. At the moment, the government does not believe that the outage was the result of any kind of sabotage to the electric power company, but that will need to be investigated, Padilla said.</s>A big fire erupted at an electricity plant that powers most of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, and a blackout swept across the U.S. territory of 3.5 million people.

The Electric Power Authority said two transmission lines of 230,000 volts each failed for reasons still being investigated. Spokeswoman Yohari Molina said in a phone interview that it was unclear when power would be restored.

The island's fire department said it extinguished a blaze at the power plant in southern Puerto Rico that serves a majority of customers on the island. Heavy storms were affecting the area where the plant is.

Authorities said the outage caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators, including at the upscale Vanderbilt hotel in the popular tourist area of Condado and at the mayor's office in the northern coastal town of Catano. All those fires were put out and no one was injured, officials said.

The blackout snarled road traffic across the island and the government had to cancel train service in the capital of San Juan and close a busy traffic tunnel in the island's southern region. Businesses, universities and government offices closed early, creating even more chaos on roads.

"I call on people to cooperate and respect drivers and government officials ... to avoid any regrettable incidents," Transportation Secretary Miguel Torres said.

The outage angered many Puerto Ricans who are struggling with power bills that are on average twice that of the U.S. mainland. People took to social media to demand where exactly their money is going.

The power company has faced numerous allegations of corruption and is struggling with a $9-billion debt that it hopes to restructure. Company officials have said they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is outdated equipment.

Puerto Rico is mired in a decade-long economic slump and the territory's government is working to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt that the governor has said is unpayable.

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Anger grows in Tulsa as police release video of fatal shooting of unarmed black man</s>SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A big fire erupted at an electricity plant that powers most of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, causing a blackout that swept across the U.S. territory of 3.5 million people.

The Electric Power Authority said two transmission lines of 230,000 volts each failed. Executive Director Javier Quintana told reporters that he expected most power to be restored by Thursday morning.

Puerto Rico's fire department said it had extinguished the blaze at the southern power plant, which serves a majority of customers on the island.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla told reporters the fire began in a switch and initially destroyed a system that provides 30 percent of Puerto Rico's overall power.

"This is a very serious event," he said. "The system is not designed to withstand a failure of this magnitude."

He did not directly answer a question about whether the power company has any kind of backup should another similar situation occur, or if the island was hit by a major hurricane.

"I assume complete responsibility," Garcia said of the outage. "Everyone knows that the company's maintenance problems began decades ago."

The power company is struggling with a $9 billion debt that it hopes to restructure as it faces numerous corruption allegations. Company officials have said they are seeking more revenue to update what they say is outdated equipment.

Garcia, however, said that no amount of money or maintenance would have prevented the fire.

Authorities said the outage caused 15 fires across Puerto Rico as a result of malfunctioning generators, including at the upscale Vanderbilt hotel in the popular tourist area of Condado and at the mayor's office in the northern coastal town of Catano. All those fires were put out and no one was injured, officials said. .

The outage also affected water service across the island, with officials urging customers to be prudent in their usage.

The blackout snarled road traffic and the government had to cancel train service in the capital of San Juan and close a busy traffic tunnel in the south. Businesses, universities and government offices shuttered early, creating even more chaos on roads. A police officer directing traffic was hit and taken to the hospital.

"I call on people to cooperate and respect drivers and government officials ... to avoid any regrettable incidents," Transportation Secretary Miguel Torres said.

The outage angered many Puerto Ricans who are struggling with power bills that are on average twice that of the U.S. mainland. People took to social media to demand where exactly their money is going.

Puerto Rico is mired in a decade-long economic slump, and a newly created federal control board is working to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt that the governor has said is unpayable.</s>Britain's first new gas plant in 3 years starts power production

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Britain's first new large gas plant in three years began electricity generation this week, the owner of the Carrington plant near Manchester said.

The plant, with a capacity of 880 megawatts, can generate enough electricity to power around 1 million homes.

"Carrington Power Station is the first large-scale gas-fired power plant to come online in Great Britain since 2013," Irish utility ESB, the plant's owner, said in an emailed statement, adding that first commercial operations began on Monday.

"As well as providing 880MW of reliable baseload electricity, Carrington Power Station will be one of the most flexible plants providing fast back-up to intermittent wind and solar generation when it is needed most," ESB said.

The plant has already secured a contract for the winter of 2019/20 under the government's new capacity market scheme, which pays owners of power plants to provide back-up electricity at short notice.

The scheme will kick in when supply is too low to meet demand, for instance when renewable energy sources fail to produce enough power or when thermal power plants close or have failures.

Britain, which last week gave the go-ahead for EDF to build its 18 billion pound ($23.32 billion) Hinkley C nuclear project, needs several new power plants to be built over the next decade to replace its ageing power fleet.

All but one of Britain's existing nuclear plants, which produce around a fifth of the country's electricity, are set to close by 2030 as the plants come to the end of their operational lifespan.

Coal-fired power plants provided around a quarter of the country's electricity last year, but the government plans to close these by 2025 as a part of its efforts to meet climate targets. ($1 = 0.7718 pounds) (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Adrian Croft)</s>Kenya Power has agreed to renegotiate terms of an electricity buying contract signed with Mumias Sugar Company in a move expected to ease the burden of the miller which has been making losses on co-generation.

Kenya Power managing director Ben Chumo said the two entities need to balance the agreements for mutual benefit.

Mumias has been pushing for the review of the contract, saying its terms are not friendly as Kenya Power has retained low rates for a long time.

The losses are mainly attributed to low feed-in tariffs and penalties that Kenya Power levies the sugar miller for interrupted supplies.

The power utility firm has been slapping the miller with a penalty in the event that it does not supply power to the national grid as a result of stoppages occasioned by operation challenges.

“The agreement should be balanced to make both parties work together amicably. My team has already assured them (Mumias) of my support and commitment to have the past be lessons and move forward powered by mutual positive interest,” Mr Chumo said on phone.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett, speaking to the Business Daily, noted that the current terms are not friendly to the miller.

“In developing the power agreement between the two organisations, one power was cleverer than the other. There is need to review the contract,” said Mr Bett.

The firm is grappling with shortage of sugarcane, which has in turn affected production of power for its own consumption and feeding the national grid.

The firm uses bagasse to make electricity and the shortage of raw material implies that it cannot generate power.

In the six months to December 2015, the energy generation unit at Mumias recorded zero revenue as the miller did not sell any electricity to Kenya Power.

The shortage of cane has seen the Nairobi Exchange listed company crush cane for only two days in a week. The miller blames competitors for the shortage, claiming that they are poaching sugarcane from its contracted farmers.

Diversification into other revenue streams is one of the conditions put in place by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) before the sugar market is liberalised to allow imports to come in the country without restrictions.
A fire at a power plant at Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority causes a blackout which leaves 1.5 million people without electricity.