The Dominican Republic experienced a rare nationwide blackout that disrupted traffic and mass transit and left many homes and businesses without power. Officials said generation units in San Pedro de Macorís and the Quisqueya Power Plant went offline, triggering cascading transmission failures, though the precise cause remained under investigation. Hospitals and major institutions relied on backup generators while commuters were evacuated from metro cars and cable cars. Recent extended outages have been linked to poor maintenance and illegal connections, highlighting concerns about grid resilience.
Nationwide Blackout Halts Daily Life Across the Dominican Republic — Metro Evacuated, Investigation Underway
The Dominican Republic experienced a rare nationwide blackout that disrupted traffic and mass transit and left many homes and businesses without power. Officials said generation units in San Pedro de Macorís and the Quisqueya Power Plant went offline, triggering cascading transmission failures, though the precise cause remained under investigation. Hospitals and major institutions relied on backup generators while commuters were evacuated from metro cars and cable cars. Recent extended outages have been linked to poor maintenance and illegal connections, highlighting concerns about grid resilience.
09:14 AM, 11/12/2025Society
Nationwide blackout disrupts daily life in nearly 11 million–person country
A rare, countrywide power outage struck the Dominican Republic on Tuesday afternoon, crippling traffic, interrupting mass transit and forcing many businesses to halt operations in the nation of nearly 11 million people.
Authorities pointed to a failure in the national transmission system, though investigators had not immediately identified the root cause. The Dominican Electricity Transmission Company, a decentralized state agency, said generation units in San Pedro de Macorís and at the Quisqueya Power Plant went offline, which triggered cascading failures across other transmission and generation facilities.
Officials did not provide a timetable for restoring full service. The outage came during the afternoon rush hour, compounding traffic gridlock and stranding commuters.
The blackout interrupted mass transit across the capital, Santo Domingo, including aerial cable cars and the metro. Passengers trapped in metro cars and cable cars were safely evacuated, the Agence France-Presse reported, and some commuters disembarked and walked through tunnels beside the tracks to reach exits.
Hospitals, banks and other major institutions switched to backup generators, while many residences and small businesses remained without electricity, disrupting commerce and daily routines.
'Traffic is already chaos in eastern Santo Domingo,' said Tomás Ozuna, 37, who was heading to a night shift as an IT worker. 'I don't know how we'll work.'
Lissa Fernández, 26, said her bank had a generator but that she was unsure how she would get home because 'the metro isn't running.' Leonel Encarnación, a barber in Santo Domingo, said his shop lost customers when air conditioning and lights went out.
According to the International Energy Agency, the Dominican Republic's electricity mix is dominated by oil and oil products, followed by coal and natural gas, with smaller contributions from solar, wind and hydroelectric sources. In recent weeks, citizens have experienced outages lasting up to 10 hours; distribution authorities attributed those interruptions to inadequate maintenance and illegal connections, AFP reported.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the transmission failure and have not announced a full restoration timeline. The incident highlights vulnerabilities in the country's grid and underscores calls for improved maintenance and investment in diversified, resilient energy sources.