Hurricane Fiona Power Outage in Puerto Rico , What Happened and Why

Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 18, 2022, as a Category 1 storm. Within hours, the entire island had lost power, an island-wide blackout that shocked many observers who had expected a moderate storm to cause only localized damage. Understanding what happened during Fiona, and why a Category 1 storm caused total grid failure, is essential context for Puerto Rico energy independence planning.

What Happened During Fiona

Fiona made landfall near Punta Tocon in southwestern Puerto Rico and moved across the island from southwest to northeast. Although Fiona's sustained winds at landfall were approximately 85 mph, the storm produced catastrophic rainfall of 25 to 30 inches in some areas, causing severe flooding across much of Puerto Rico.

The flooding and wind damage caused cascading failures across the electrical grid. Substations flooded. Transmission lines fell. Generation plants tripped offline as protective equipment activated. Within approximately 6 hours of Fiona's landfall, LUMA Energy reported that essentially 100% of Puerto Rico's electrical customers had lost power.

Why a Category 1 Storm Caused Total Grid Failure

The Fiona blackout was widely described as proof that Puerto Rico's grid remained fragile five years after Hurricane Maria's reconstruction. Several factors contributed to Fiona's disproportionate impact.

• Incomplete infrastructure recovery: Despite years of post-Maria reconstruction efforts, Puerto Rico's electrical infrastructure in 2022 remained in a compromised state. Equipment that had been repaired but not fully replaced was vulnerable to failure in less-than-catastrophic conditions.
• Rainfall, not wind, was the primary threat: Fiona's extreme rainfall caused flooding that damaged electrical infrastructure that had survived the wind. Substations and underground components not designed for flood conditions failed.
• Cascading failures: When one substation or generation plant fails, others must compensate. If the system is already stressed, the additional load can cause cascading failures across the grid, which is what occurred during Fiona.

How Long Did the Fiona Blackout Last?

Fiona's restoration was significantly faster than Maria's, but still measured in weeks for most customers and months for some.

Most urban customers in San Juan, Bayamón, and Carolina were restored within 1 to 2 weeks. Suburban and smaller municipal customers were typically restored within 2 to 3 weeks. Rural customers and those in mountainous areas, particularly in municipalities like Utuado, Jayuya, and other interior communities, waited 4 to 8 weeks or longer for restoration. Some customers in the most remote areas waited longer.

What Fiona Taught Homeowners

Fiona delivered several important lessons that reinforce and extend the lessons of Hurricane Maria.

• Category does not predict grid impact: A Category 1 storm caused complete island-wide blackout. Planning only for Category 3 or higher hurricanes is insufficient for Puerto Rico. Any significant tropical weather event can cause extended outages.
• Flooding is as dangerous as wind for the grid: Infrastructure protection against wind has improved more than protection against flooding. Future storms with extreme rainfall can cause grid failures similar to Fiona's regardless of wind intensity.
• Five years of reconstruction was not enough: Fiona demonstrated that despite billions in federal recovery funding and years of infrastructure work, Puerto Rico's grid remained vulnerable to complete failure in moderate storm conditions. This suggests that full grid reliability is still years away.

The Propane Response During Fiona

Tropigas maintained supply chain continuity during and after Fiona more effectively than AEE maintained electrical service. Tropigas's sealed propane tanks were unaffected by Fiona's flooding. Deliveries resumed as roads became passable, significantly before most customers had their electrical service restored.

Customers with propane systems maintained cooking, hot water, and generator operation throughout Fiona's outage period. Customers without propane systems lost these functions when the grid went down and did not recover them for weeks.