San Juan, June 14 (RHC)-- Power outages are affecting at least 350,000 people in Puerto Rico amid an extreme heat wave.  This comes as record-breaking extreme weather is being reported around the world. 

Authorities in Athens shut down the Acropolis and other major sites during peak hours as Greece records its earliest-ever seasonal heat wave.

In Puerto Rico, the mayor of San Juan declared a state of emergency as the island reported widespread power outages, leaving some 350,000 customers without electricity Wednesday night amid soaring temperatures. 

Puerto Rico’s power grid was taken over by the Canadian-American company LUMA Energy in 2021 despite widespread public opposition.  

Puerto Ricans have continued to suffer persistent blackouts, yet pay some of the highest electricity rates in the United States, as a colony of the richest nation in the world.