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Dominican Republic Plunged into Darkness by Grid Failure
24 Feb
Summary
- Nationwide blackout occurred Monday due to a major power grid failure.
- A tripped transmission line switch initiated the grid's protection mode.
- Power was restored to nearly 30% of normal capacity by mid-afternoon.
A significant failure in the national power grid plunged the Dominican Republic into a nationwide blackout on Monday. This marks the second such widespread outage the Caribbean nation has faced in three months. The power grid failure began around 10:50 a.m. when a transmission line switch tripped, causing the system to enter protection mode.
This event led to major disruptions across the country, halting traffic and halting public transportation services. Some businesses were compelled to close their doors as authorities worked to restore electricity. Hospitals, water services, and airports were operating on backup power during the outage.
By mid-afternoon, efforts to repair the grid showed progress, with power being restored to approximately 30% of normal capacity. The state-owned Dominican Electricity Transmission Company confirmed that main power plants reduced output unexpectedly, leading to cascading shutdowns in other generating units.
