SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s government filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a private power company, claiming it is responsible for damages to customers' appliances caused by chronic power outages in the U.S. territory.
The civil lawsuit by the consumer affairs department says the Luma company, which oversees power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico, was “negligent” and is responsible for damages caused to consumer appliances by outages and power fluctuations.
It said the department has the authority to take cases to court to protect those affected by the company’s “inefficiency and lack of adequate service.”
The action was filed against the company as a whole since the law exempts Luma’s employees and contractors from claims filed by customers under an immunity granted in 2021 by Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau.
The suit cited a recent Luma statement at a public hearing that the company has rejected 1,828 claims. “It’s time for Luma to be fully accountable to Puerto Rican consumers,” it said.
Luma said in a brief statement that it would treat the lawsuit with the seriousness and responsibility it deserves.
“Our commitment is to continue working for the benefit of our customers, despite the significant challenges we face in operating a fragile and deteriorating electrical system, which for years has lacked the necessary maintenance and investment,” it said.
The outages have damaged thousands of appliances ranging from air conditioners to refrigerators on the island of 3.2 million people with a 40% poverty rate.
The lawsuit comes months after Puerto Rico’s governor promised to cancel Luma’s contract, warning it would be a long and complex process.
Anger against Luma has been growing ever since it signed a contract with Puerto Rico’s government in 2020.
Outages remain common after Hurricane Maria razed Puerto Rico’s electric grid when it hit the island as a powerful Category 4 storm in September 2017. But the grid was already frail following a lack of investment and maintenance for decades by Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, which is struggling to restructure $9 billion in debt.
Two island-wide blackouts hit the island in recent months, including on New Year’s Eve and during Easter Week.
FILE - Customers sit inside a restaurant lit by battery-powered lanterns during an island-wide power outage, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo, File)
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.
Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.
United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.
The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.
Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.
“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”
Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.
McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”
Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.
The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.
The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
