The Dominican Republic has successfully restored electricity to nearly the entire national grid following a widespread blackout that plunged much of the country into darkness and sparked protests in several cities. The power outage, caused by a failure in transmission lines on Tuesday, affected key areas including the capital Santo Domingo and the popular tourist destination Punta Cana. Energy Minister Joel Santos Echavarria confirmed in a statement that all power generation plants are now operational, with the electrical transmission system functioning at full capacity and meeting 96% of national demand. The blackout led to severe traffic disruptions and the suspension of metro services in Santo Domingo, forcing passengers to evacuate. Protests erupted in Santiago and San Pedro de Macorís, with residents burning tires in frustration over the prolonged lack of electricity. Local media reported several arrests during the unrest. The Energy Ministry has launched an investigation into the cause of the outage, with the minister cautioning against premature conclusions of sabotage. Frequent power cuts remain a persistent issue in the Dominican Republic, often attributed to inadequate maintenance, system breakdowns, and illegal connections.