Overview

On Tuesday, November 12, 2025, the Dominican Republic experienced a‍ rare,⁣ nationwide‍ blackout, impacting its nearly 11 million residents.‍ The outage caused significant disruption to ⁣daily life, paralyzing businesses‍ and snarling traffic across the country.

Cause of the Blackout

The Dominican Electricity Transmission Company⁣ (DETC),a decentralized state agency,attributed the blackout ⁤to a ⁢failure within the national power⁢ grid’s⁤ transmission system. Specifically, generation units at the San Pedro de⁢ Macorís and Quisqueya ⁣Power plants ⁣experienced shutdowns. Reuters reported this initial failure triggered a cascading effect, leading to failures at other transmission and generation plants throughout the country.

Impacts of the Outage

• Transportation: Mass transit systems in Santo Domingo,including the metro⁣ and aerial cable cars,were disrupted,leaving passengers stranded.
• Businesses: Commercial activity was substantially⁢ hampered as businesses ⁤were forced to close or operate with limited capacity.
• Daily Life: Residents experienced widespread inconvenience, impacting essential services and daily ⁤routines.

Restoration Efforts

As of November 12, 2025, the timeline for full power restoration remained unclear. authorities were working to‍ assess the ⁢extent of the damage and implement repair procedures. CBS News indicated that updates on restoration progress would be provided as⁤ they became available.