Trump, Bad Bunny, and the Ongoing Failures of Puerto Rico's Power Infrastructure
Puerto Rico faces the most unreliable energy system in the United States. Even with billions in federal funding for repairs, the situation remains dire.
TroibNews 
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — On a sweltering summer evening, the lights in Old San Juan went dark, casting shadows over the historic neighborhood's cobblestone streets. Fortunately, a dog-friendly bar nearby was equipped with its own generator, quickly restoring power and drawing in tourists and locals alike. The amiable bartender approached and encouraged us to place our orders before the influx of patrons surged in.
For newcomers to this enchanting island, the sudden plunge into darkness can be somewhat disconcerting, but the locals take it in stride. They’re accustomed to apagones — the Spanish term for blackouts. The Caribbean islands often face hurricane-related outages, but in this instance, faulty equipment and power line failures within an already troubled energy infrastructure were responsible. That night, around 350,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.5 million electricity customers endured several hours without power.
Over the coming months, two even more severe outages would occur. Tropical Storm Ernesto passed primarily to the north, yet it still managed to disrupt the island’s delicate electrical system. On New Year’s Eve, an aging cable failure resulted in a near-total blackout.
Puerto Rico possesses the least reliable energy system in the U.S., with Puerto Ricans experiencing approximately 15 percent more service interruptions and roughly 21 percent longer outages than their counterparts on the mainland. Alongside the widespread blackouts caused by storms and New Year’s Eve failures, the island also faces regional and local outages when equipment malfunctions, like the situation in early June in southern Puerto Rico. Additionally, the territory suffers regular power losses stemming from energy shortfalls; last year, the grid manager reported that supply shortages led to power cuts in certain areas 115 times to prevent catastrophic failures within Puerto Rico's vulnerable system.
However, for those living in Puerto Rico, the persistent power outages represent the catastrophe itself.
These energy failures disrupt every aspect of life for the 3.2 million American citizens residing in the territory, affecting their ability to work and care for their families, hindering access to healthcare and education, and complicating efforts to develop affordable housing and enhance agricultural programs to decrease dependence on imported food.
This situation was not meant to be the norm. Following Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017 — which became the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history — Congress allocated billions to aid in repairing damaged energy facilities and upgrading aging infrastructure. In 2019, Puerto Rico unveiled an ambitious overhaul plan for its power system, legislating a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The Biden administration, alongside local clean energy advocates, aimed to harness Puerto Rico’s ample sunshine for this initiative, promoting rooftop solar and battery systems capable of functioning independently during grid failures.
Many proponents and experts argue that the solution isn’t merely fixing the existing grid but rather transitioning completely away from this fragile energy system. Advocates assert that shifting to primarily solar energy offers the best assurance that island residents would maintain reliable power for their daily activities.
“The fact right now is that solar energy is the best way, the easiest way and the cheapest way” to provide energy to Puerto Rican communities, said Jonathan Castillo Polanco, director of green energy for the Hispanic Federation in Puerto Rico.
Ultimately, however, despite some successes, this plan has fallen significantly short, leaving many Puerto Ricans in the dark. The territory is not close to achieving its interim target of 40 percent renewable energy by 2025, with generation still lingering in the single digits. The majority of the federal funds from Congress remain unutilized, largely due to delays and bureaucratic challenges from the previous Trump administration, compounded by corruption involving local officials. Former President Joe Biden sought to accelerate the spending of these stalled federal dollars but often frustrated Puerto Ricans with a seemingly contradictory strategy: one agency focused on advancing renewable energy, while another invested in a perpetually failing fossil fuel-derived system. This disconnection, advocates contend, undermined Puerto Rico’s renewable energy initiatives.
Simultaneously, LUMA Energy, the privately operated grid operator partly owned by U.S. and Canadian interests, has become a central figure of blame — with local superstar Bad Bunny, a Grammy-winning reggaeton artist, frequently criticizing LUMA’s failure to avert blackouts, despite the system's issues originating long before LUMA's management began.
The upcoming 2024 elections further complicated Puerto Rico’s pursuit of a cleaner energy landscape. Newly elected Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, a Trump ally critical of the Biden administration's solar energy emphasis, is pushing to postpone or eliminate the territory's interim clean energy mandates while advocating for natural gas to play a significant role in ensuring reliable energy for Puerto Rico. This perspective aligns with those who prioritize grid reliability, whereas others like Castillo Polanco maintain that Puerto Rico must expedite its transition to renewable energy solutions, primarily solar and the accompanying battery systems.
As Trump reclaims the White House, fears rise among Puerto Ricans that billions of unspent federal funds may vanish, given his past derogatory remarks about the territory — particularly since island residents favored Kamala Harris nearly 3-1 during the vote.
“That’s what worries me, that some of those monies won’t be forthcoming,” said Andrés Córdova Phelps, a professor in Puerto Rico and chair of the Puerto Rico Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. “He could take it personally.”
González-Colón, however, is not concerned by potential retaliation. Still, she stated, “We cannot afford to lose that money. It means having the whole island shut down.”
As political factions continue to battle over the U.S. energy framework, Puerto Rico stands as a potential model for clean energy in the country. Yet, its struggles highlight the difficulties of developing a reliable energy infrastructure in a territory with no control over its future.
In the end, it seems likely that power outages will persist, and Puerto Ricans will continue to endure hardships or choose to leave the island.
Puerto Rico’s energy troubles have been years in the making, with a considerable amount of blame to go around. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority — locally referred to as PREPA — has long neglected the urgent need to repair its aging energy infrastructure, which relies on outdated plants and substations. A failure in any component of this aging system can set off a chain reaction, causing widespread outages far from the original failure point.
Corruption scandals have plagued the public utility for decades, leading to considerable shifts in leadership as numerous officials faced criminal charges or were ousted from their roles. Investigations revealed that PREPA officials allegedly accepted bribes to prioritize power restoration for select businesses and communities after Maria. Moreover, local leaders generating poor financial decisions worsened PREPA’s circumstances, contributing to the territory's bankruptcy. In response, Congress placed the management of Puerto Rico’s finances — including the bankrupt utility — under an unelected oversight board in 2016.
On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Puerto Rico, resulting in three fatalities and causing an estimated $1 billion in damages.
Just two weeks later, Hurricane Maria made landfall.
The Category 4 hurricane hit Puerto Rico directly, obliterating its energy grid and resulting in the longest blackouts in U.S. history, lasting nearly a year in certain regions. Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives due to Maria and its aftermath, marking it as the nation’s second deadliest hurricane.
Memories of Hurricane Maria continue to linger for Puerto Ricans: the agonizing months during which their elderly relatives went without dialysis or insulin, and children faced empty stomachs as schools closed and grocery stores ran out of supplies. The infrastructure for energy, healthcare, and education suffered severe damage first from Maria, followed by earthquakes, and later impacted further by a pandemic that exacerbated isolation for residents in remote areas.
Ivonne Rodriguez-Wiewall, a lawyer leading the nonprofit Direct Relief’s efforts in Puerto Rico, described the aftermath of Maria as akin to waking up “on September 20th of the 1950s. There was nothing, nothing.”
The combined impact of Irma and Maria rendered the grid inoperative, resulting in a system weakened to the point where today, Puerto Ricans are perpetually one malfunctioning power line, bird, tree branch, or iguana away from experiencing another blackout, according to Charlotte Gossett Navarro, chief director of the Hispanic Federation’s Puerto Rico team, a nonprofit that provided early response following Maria.
Over the following five years, Congress allocated billions to rebuild Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, dedicating about $20 billion for the energy sector through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Energy Department.
However, the process of allocating those funds has faced significant delays, with most of the billions Congress earmarked for Hurricane Maria recovery sitting unused for years due to the Trump administration’s inaction and regulatory barriers.
“President Trump and his administration are working to unleash domestic energy production and reduce energy costs for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the Energy Department declared. Energy Secretary Chris Wright “met with Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon to discuss opportunities to help strengthen Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure and increase grid reliability.”
By mid-2019, neither FEMA nor HUD had begun funding long-term recovery projects for the grid. Factors contributing to this included unclear guidance from FEMA on eligible projects and a lack of coordination among the various governmental bodies involved in the recovery, as indicated by a Government Accountability Office report. Under Biden’s FEMA, which was essentially starting from ground zero, efforts began to expedite the distribution of some of its $17 billion earmarked for the energy sector, in part by granting unprecedented flexibility for funding post-disaster projects that had not yet commenced construction.
Still, by the end of Biden’s presidency, FEMA had disbursed only 19 percent of the hurricane recovery funds earmarked for the energy system. Various critics, including the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice advocating on behalf of local clean energy groups, filed lawsuits arguing FEMA was allocating too much funding towards rehabilitating the failing fossil fuel-driven power infrastructure instead of adopting the more progressive approach of providing for the clean energy initiatives advanced by Biden’s Energy Department, which had committed $1 billion to deliver 30,000 to 40,000 solar power and storage systems to low-income households and individuals with disabilities.
According to Chris Currie of the U.S. GAO, Puerto Rico's financial condition complicates things significantly. Unlike states affected by disasters, the territory cannot afford upfront costs for recovery projects post-Maria, rendering the island fully reliant on federal funding. Currie, who directs the GAO’S Homeland Security and Justice division, also indicated that Puerto Rico initially lacked the governmental framework and personnel to manage an influx of funds, while PREPA’s shortcomings further hindered efforts, making it ill-equipped to manage the existing system, much less upgrade the entire grid.
“The blame can’t be placed all on FEMA,” Currie commented. “PREPA has a role to play in this too.”
For her part, González-Colón assigns blame primarily to the federal permitting process, asserting it has stalled energy projects because of the extensive time required to secure approvals from federal regulators.
“Puerto Rico,” she stated, “is constrained because of the federal permitting process.”
In the wake of Maria’s devastation, Puerto Rican lawmakers devised a strategy aimed at creating a resilient energy system that would not fail as spectacularly as the existing grid during historical disasters.
In 2019, they enacted legislation aimed at transitioning from a system overwhelmingly reliant on fossil fuels for over 95 percent of its energy to one that would be entirely sustainable by mid-century. This ambitious initiative included strict mandates aimed at ensuring progress toward the 2050 goal, including a commitment to end all coal-fired energy production by 2028, alongside interim benchmarks for increasing renewable energy generation. The law, however, left it to the independent energy regulator to determine what proportion of the power mix would come from rooftop solar systems on homes and businesses versus large wind and solar farms still connected to the fragile grid.
Its rollout took years to gain traction, resulting in a surge in rooftop solar installations. By mid-2023, however, none of the extensive renewable energy projects approved by the energy regulator in 2020 were yet operational.
The plan has also failed to alleviate the issues associated with outages. Even once power is generally restored following significant failures, disruptions can persist for lengthy periods. Residents in municipalities such as Santa Isabel, Coamo, and Aibonito have continued grappling with the aftermath of a transformer malfunction from early June. The notable exception remains those fortunate enough to have installed solar power systems at their residences or businesses, or access to community microgrids.
On a drive through these hard-hit regions with Jorge Gaskins, president of the nonprofit Barrio Eléctrico, we discussed his initiatives to install solar and battery systems in hundreds of private homes. He showed me a residence in Coamo owned by José Rivera Espada, a retired member of the Puerto Rican Army National Guard. After directing us to park on the narrow rural road, Rivera Espada expressed gratitude for the solar and battery system, especially as his neighbors contend with yet another outage. With palpable pride, he showcased the rectangular white system bolted against an orange wall, indicating the blue and green lights confirming it was operational and the battery fully charged.
Such solar panels and batteries are essential in ensuring that Puerto Ricans are not left vulnerable to their unreliable grid, which Gaskins described as “a bottomless pit.”
The advantages of clean energy transition are evident during visits to Santa Isabel, profoundly affected by a range of emergencies, with around 20,000 residents and a median household income of just $22,680.
In 2022, Hurricane Fiona passed by the region, dumping over 30 inches of rain and overwhelming the electrical system, resulting in outages lasting nearly two weeks.
“All of this was underwater,” local residents repeatedly recounted as we traveled through Santa Isabel's streets.
Not far from a sculpture reading “I Heart SI”, a grey building trimmed in blue and surrounded by white fencing contains numerous crosses along its walls. Here, I met Keila M. Torres Méndez, a pastor leading the Iglesia Evangélica Unida de Puerto Congregación Jauca Santa Isabel. This church serves not merely as a place of worship but a sanctuary for the impoverished, aging community battling continuous power outages.
On the night the transformer failure initiated in June, distressed congregants packed into the church, benefiting from its solar energy system capable of accommodating needs during emergencies.
When outages occur, Méndez ensures that assistance is available — distributing bottled water and coffee while preparing hot meals such as arroz con pollo and salmon. Community members can store vital medical supplies, such as insulin, in the fridge and find a relatively cool environment in which to rest.
“When someone comes in asking for help, they never leave empty handed,” she said, seated near tables brimming with cans of beans and donations of shoes and books for those in need.
Another method to enhance renewable energy visibility can be found close to the church entrance, where one can gaze at the towering wind turbines of Pattern Energy’s Santa Isabel Wind Farm in the distance. The sight is awe-inspiring, with the towers coexisting among trees yielding plantains, bananas, and countless mangoes.
Additional renewable energy farms could play a significant role in fulfilling Puerto Rico’s clean energy objectives, assuming more can successfully launch. Besides the Santa Isabel wind facility, the Punta de Lima Wind Farm, damaged during Hurricane Maria, has resumed operations after being offline for over six years.
Yet, the establishment of such farms raises pressing, and contentious, inquiries regarding the energy transition: Can additional large-scale energy projects be developed without compromising agricultural land essential for food security in a territory that imports over 85 percent of its food? Should Puerto Rico even attempt this — given that fragile power lines will still be necessary to deliver this electricity to urban centers? Or should the focus shift towards enhancing the feasibility of rooftop solar systems on individual homes, reducing reliance on the grid? The advancement of rooftop solar systems has surged, quadrupling to almost 600 megawatts in a five-year period due to an incentive initiative, though its future remains uncertain.
Amid these discussions, Puerto Rico’s energy transition continues to progress at a sluggish pace, with many decrying the speed. Simultaneously, Governor González-Colón and other officials are pushing legislation to postpone or outright revoke the interim requirements while clean energy advocates express concerns that entrenched fossil fuel interests in Puerto Rico could further hinder progress by promoting natural gas instead of solar and wind sources.
An additional source of worry stems from the fact that much of Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure is currently under the management of private corporations.
While traveling on a highway in San Juan, I spotted graffiti conveying a resonant sentiment: “Fuck LUMA.”
Although Puerto Ricans may harbor varied opinions on numerous topics, including the debate surrounding its potential statehood, there is overwhelming consensus on LUMA — the entity responsible for controlling Puerto Rico’s electricity on behalf of PREPA — their resentment toward power interruptions remains unanimous, as do complaints about exorbitant electricity costs.
“This is an issue that has to be fixed,” stated Charles A. Rodríguez, the former president of Puerto Rico’s Senate and a former chair for the territory’s Democratic Party. “We are not happy with LUMA.”
When the lights went out in Old San Juan during my summer visit, social media erupted with grievances from residents, including statements from Bad Bunny, one of the world’s most popular musicians. In 2022, he released a mini-documentary titled El Apagon, or The Power Outage, fiercely critiquing the energy instability and broader issues of gentrification facing Puerto Ricans. He has persistently pressed for change, investing in billboard campaigns aimed at encouraging fellow Puerto Ricans to unseat the pro-statehood politicians he believes are contributing to the systemic issues.
Following the November elections, Bad Bunny took to X to advocate, “LUMA HAS TO GO.” After the New Year’s Eve blackout, he commented on Instagram, “This is how you spend New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico, without electricity. Normal.”
LUMA representatives acknowledge the frustration experienced by residents. Alejandro Figueroa Ramírez, the company's chief regulatory officer, stated that their “heads are down and focused” on addressing the challenges presented by the power grid.
Figueroa explained that the company took over an outdated system rife with vulnerabilities, requiring time to address all weak points.
“You can’t fix everything and get to where we all want to be in a small amount of time,” he remarked. “But there is hope in the sense that we know what needs to get done.”
LUMA has issued warnings that Puerto Ricans may face a difficult year ahead. In 2024, there were 34 days in a six-month span where LUMA had to enact power cuts in certain regions due to supply deficiencies. The company forecasts that this number may reach as high as 93 days during the same period this year, particularly if a major hurricane strikes or power shortages become more severe than currently anticipated.
LUMA contends that these specific outages are not their fault, attributing them to a lack of available supply to meet rising demand. The management of Puerto Rico’s older power facilities is the responsibility of another private entity, Genera, a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy. Genera has faced significant backlash over concerns it may perpetuate the territory’s reliance on fossil fuels by maintaining existing fossil fuel facilities. A spokesperson for Genera, Ivan Báez, stated the company is committed to retiring these plants, but they must continue their operations temporarily to ensure a consistent fuel supply.
Local leaders share little better than private companies when it comes to public dissent regarding Puerto Rico’s energy dilemmas. Discontent arises significantly from the corruption that has infected Puerto Rican politics — which many blame for the protracted delays in the distribution of federal funds following disasters.
At the same time, González-Colón and her party, the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista, have faced public criticism regarding the ongoing power outages, and allegations of corruption have surfaced against local officials. Just two months into her term, she has taken steps to assume control of the inconsistent energy grid, appointing an energy czar and forming an energy committee.
The unstable power framework, she shared with PMG Magazine, “is my main challenge.” She champions a multifaceted energy strategy that incorporates hydroelectric, solar, and wind power, along with storage solutions — though many of the specific initiatives she references lean towards natural gas.
“My concern is there are going to be blackouts and brownouts because of the lack of [power] generation,” she expressed.
Nevertheless, González-Colón does not wield ultimate authority over the territory’s fiscal matters. In 2016, Congress recalibrated its response to Puerto Rico's substantial $72 billion debt crisis by entrusting fiscal oversight to the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico, commonly referred to as La Junta.
When I asked Robert Mujica Jr., the executive director of the board, whether La Junta holds too much power, he responded, “That’s an interesting question.” He asserted that the board supports Puerto Rico’s renewable energy aspirations, despite simultaneously contesting a law extending solar incentives across the territory, all while diligently working to resolve the public utility’s bankruptcy so energy resilience initiatives can advance.
“If you want to grow the economy, you need to have an energy system that works,” he pointed out.
In Puerto Rico, Donald Trump frequently surfaces in discussions. The image of him tossing paper towels to a crowd during his post-Maria visit remains firmly etched in the memories of residents, crystallizing their perception of his disdain for their homeland.
In a largely symbolic exercise, given that their presidential votes hold no binding power due to Puerto Rico’s territorial status, 73 percent of Puerto Ricans cast their ballots in favor of Kamala Harris in the recent election, amidst a backdrop of support for a pro-statehood, pro-Trump gubernatorial candidate.
The looming prospect that Trump may retaliate for this pro-Harris vote by withholding the billions in unspent federal funding adds further tension.
In addressing potential retribution from Trump, the governor expressed minimal concern about a clawback, emphasizing, however, her grave worry that these crucial funds remain unspent, which she has directly communicated to the president regarding the urgency of Puerto Rico's energy situation.
Pablo José Hernández Rivera, who succeeded González-Colón as Puerto Rico’s congressional representative and collaborates with the Democratic caucus, is among those hoping that the governor's ties to Trump may yield benefits. After all, he noted, Trump congratulated González-Colón on her electoral win, and she attended his inauguration. The governor has pledged to work alongside the Trump-Vance administration, touting her personal relationships with top officials like EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“Having a Republican governor seriously reduces the possibility of [Trump] lashing out against Puerto Rico,” remarked Hernández, a member of the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party who opposes statehood.
Unlike climate advocates within the Democratic Party, Hernández does not perceive an advantage in challenging a Trump administration hostile to clean energy. While he supports supplementing renewable sources, he is prepared to accept the integration of “less desirable” fossil fuels to stabilize the grid and enhance affordability for Puerto Ricans.
Before departing Puerto Rico, I visited La Biblioteca Comunitaria de Villa del Mar in Santa Isabel, a library overseen by director Jacklyne Ortiz Vélez.
Ortiz Vélez has witnessed firsthand the fallout from Puerto Rico’s energy challenges. Together with a few volunteers, she strives to educate children and young adults aged 5 to 21 who have suffered significant educational setbacks due to frequent school power outages.
Seated amid rows of books in the compact library, she spoke tearfully about the children she serves, who struggle to comprehend why their families face such immense hardships due to power shortages and other issues. Many are depressed, she admitted, with some reaching a state of despair bordering on suicidal. Adults, too, come to her in tears when they feel overwhelmed, grappling with the inability to work and afford basic necessities due to ongoing power outages.
“That breaks my heart,” she said.
These youngsters will likely encounter far more power interruptions in the foreseeable future. As the island approaches another hurricane season, the potential for power outages could quadruple starting in May, plunging Puerto Ricans back into darkness once more.
This story was made possible through financial support from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
For newcomers to this enchanting island, the sudden plunge into darkness can be somewhat disconcerting, but the locals take it in stride. They’re accustomed to apagones — the Spanish term for blackouts. The Caribbean islands often face hurricane-related outages, but in this instance, faulty equipment and power line failures within an already troubled energy infrastructure were responsible. That night, around 350,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.5 million electricity customers endured several hours without power.
Over the coming months, two even more severe outages would occur. Tropical Storm Ernesto passed primarily to the north, yet it still managed to disrupt the island’s delicate electrical system. On New Year’s Eve, an aging cable failure resulted in a near-total blackout.
Puerto Rico possesses the least reliable energy system in the U.S., with Puerto Ricans experiencing approximately 15 percent more service interruptions and roughly 21 percent longer outages than their counterparts on the mainland. Alongside the widespread blackouts caused by storms and New Year’s Eve failures, the island also faces regional and local outages when equipment malfunctions, like the situation in early June in southern Puerto Rico. Additionally, the territory suffers regular power losses stemming from energy shortfalls; last year, the grid manager reported that supply shortages led to power cuts in certain areas 115 times to prevent catastrophic failures within Puerto Rico's vulnerable system.
However, for those living in Puerto Rico, the persistent power outages represent the catastrophe itself.
These energy failures disrupt every aspect of life for the 3.2 million American citizens residing in the territory, affecting their ability to work and care for their families, hindering access to healthcare and education, and complicating efforts to develop affordable housing and enhance agricultural programs to decrease dependence on imported food.
This situation was not meant to be the norm. Following Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017 — which became the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history — Congress allocated billions to aid in repairing damaged energy facilities and upgrading aging infrastructure. In 2019, Puerto Rico unveiled an ambitious overhaul plan for its power system, legislating a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The Biden administration, alongside local clean energy advocates, aimed to harness Puerto Rico’s ample sunshine for this initiative, promoting rooftop solar and battery systems capable of functioning independently during grid failures.
Many proponents and experts argue that the solution isn’t merely fixing the existing grid but rather transitioning completely away from this fragile energy system. Advocates assert that shifting to primarily solar energy offers the best assurance that island residents would maintain reliable power for their daily activities.
“The fact right now is that solar energy is the best way, the easiest way and the cheapest way” to provide energy to Puerto Rican communities, said Jonathan Castillo Polanco, director of green energy for the Hispanic Federation in Puerto Rico.
Ultimately, however, despite some successes, this plan has fallen significantly short, leaving many Puerto Ricans in the dark. The territory is not close to achieving its interim target of 40 percent renewable energy by 2025, with generation still lingering in the single digits. The majority of the federal funds from Congress remain unutilized, largely due to delays and bureaucratic challenges from the previous Trump administration, compounded by corruption involving local officials. Former President Joe Biden sought to accelerate the spending of these stalled federal dollars but often frustrated Puerto Ricans with a seemingly contradictory strategy: one agency focused on advancing renewable energy, while another invested in a perpetually failing fossil fuel-derived system. This disconnection, advocates contend, undermined Puerto Rico’s renewable energy initiatives.
Simultaneously, LUMA Energy, the privately operated grid operator partly owned by U.S. and Canadian interests, has become a central figure of blame — with local superstar Bad Bunny, a Grammy-winning reggaeton artist, frequently criticizing LUMA’s failure to avert blackouts, despite the system's issues originating long before LUMA's management began.
The upcoming 2024 elections further complicated Puerto Rico’s pursuit of a cleaner energy landscape. Newly elected Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, a Trump ally critical of the Biden administration's solar energy emphasis, is pushing to postpone or eliminate the territory's interim clean energy mandates while advocating for natural gas to play a significant role in ensuring reliable energy for Puerto Rico. This perspective aligns with those who prioritize grid reliability, whereas others like Castillo Polanco maintain that Puerto Rico must expedite its transition to renewable energy solutions, primarily solar and the accompanying battery systems.
As Trump reclaims the White House, fears rise among Puerto Ricans that billions of unspent federal funds may vanish, given his past derogatory remarks about the territory — particularly since island residents favored Kamala Harris nearly 3-1 during the vote.
“That’s what worries me, that some of those monies won’t be forthcoming,” said Andrés Córdova Phelps, a professor in Puerto Rico and chair of the Puerto Rico Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. “He could take it personally.”
González-Colón, however, is not concerned by potential retaliation. Still, she stated, “We cannot afford to lose that money. It means having the whole island shut down.”
As political factions continue to battle over the U.S. energy framework, Puerto Rico stands as a potential model for clean energy in the country. Yet, its struggles highlight the difficulties of developing a reliable energy infrastructure in a territory with no control over its future.
In the end, it seems likely that power outages will persist, and Puerto Ricans will continue to endure hardships or choose to leave the island.
Puerto Rico’s energy troubles have been years in the making, with a considerable amount of blame to go around. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority — locally referred to as PREPA — has long neglected the urgent need to repair its aging energy infrastructure, which relies on outdated plants and substations. A failure in any component of this aging system can set off a chain reaction, causing widespread outages far from the original failure point.
Corruption scandals have plagued the public utility for decades, leading to considerable shifts in leadership as numerous officials faced criminal charges or were ousted from their roles. Investigations revealed that PREPA officials allegedly accepted bribes to prioritize power restoration for select businesses and communities after Maria. Moreover, local leaders generating poor financial decisions worsened PREPA’s circumstances, contributing to the territory's bankruptcy. In response, Congress placed the management of Puerto Rico’s finances — including the bankrupt utility — under an unelected oversight board in 2016.
On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Puerto Rico, resulting in three fatalities and causing an estimated $1 billion in damages.
Just two weeks later, Hurricane Maria made landfall.
The Category 4 hurricane hit Puerto Rico directly, obliterating its energy grid and resulting in the longest blackouts in U.S. history, lasting nearly a year in certain regions. Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives due to Maria and its aftermath, marking it as the nation’s second deadliest hurricane.
Memories of Hurricane Maria continue to linger for Puerto Ricans: the agonizing months during which their elderly relatives went without dialysis or insulin, and children faced empty stomachs as schools closed and grocery stores ran out of supplies. The infrastructure for energy, healthcare, and education suffered severe damage first from Maria, followed by earthquakes, and later impacted further by a pandemic that exacerbated isolation for residents in remote areas.
Ivonne Rodriguez-Wiewall, a lawyer leading the nonprofit Direct Relief’s efforts in Puerto Rico, described the aftermath of Maria as akin to waking up “on September 20th of the 1950s. There was nothing, nothing.”
The combined impact of Irma and Maria rendered the grid inoperative, resulting in a system weakened to the point where today, Puerto Ricans are perpetually one malfunctioning power line, bird, tree branch, or iguana away from experiencing another blackout, according to Charlotte Gossett Navarro, chief director of the Hispanic Federation’s Puerto Rico team, a nonprofit that provided early response following Maria.
Over the following five years, Congress allocated billions to rebuild Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, dedicating about $20 billion for the energy sector through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Energy Department.
However, the process of allocating those funds has faced significant delays, with most of the billions Congress earmarked for Hurricane Maria recovery sitting unused for years due to the Trump administration’s inaction and regulatory barriers.
“President Trump and his administration are working to unleash domestic energy production and reduce energy costs for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the Energy Department declared. Energy Secretary Chris Wright “met with Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon to discuss opportunities to help strengthen Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure and increase grid reliability.”
By mid-2019, neither FEMA nor HUD had begun funding long-term recovery projects for the grid. Factors contributing to this included unclear guidance from FEMA on eligible projects and a lack of coordination among the various governmental bodies involved in the recovery, as indicated by a Government Accountability Office report. Under Biden’s FEMA, which was essentially starting from ground zero, efforts began to expedite the distribution of some of its $17 billion earmarked for the energy sector, in part by granting unprecedented flexibility for funding post-disaster projects that had not yet commenced construction.
Still, by the end of Biden’s presidency, FEMA had disbursed only 19 percent of the hurricane recovery funds earmarked for the energy system. Various critics, including the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice advocating on behalf of local clean energy groups, filed lawsuits arguing FEMA was allocating too much funding towards rehabilitating the failing fossil fuel-driven power infrastructure instead of adopting the more progressive approach of providing for the clean energy initiatives advanced by Biden’s Energy Department, which had committed $1 billion to deliver 30,000 to 40,000 solar power and storage systems to low-income households and individuals with disabilities.
According to Chris Currie of the U.S. GAO, Puerto Rico's financial condition complicates things significantly. Unlike states affected by disasters, the territory cannot afford upfront costs for recovery projects post-Maria, rendering the island fully reliant on federal funding. Currie, who directs the GAO’S Homeland Security and Justice division, also indicated that Puerto Rico initially lacked the governmental framework and personnel to manage an influx of funds, while PREPA’s shortcomings further hindered efforts, making it ill-equipped to manage the existing system, much less upgrade the entire grid.
“The blame can’t be placed all on FEMA,” Currie commented. “PREPA has a role to play in this too.”
For her part, González-Colón assigns blame primarily to the federal permitting process, asserting it has stalled energy projects because of the extensive time required to secure approvals from federal regulators.
“Puerto Rico,” she stated, “is constrained because of the federal permitting process.”
In the wake of Maria’s devastation, Puerto Rican lawmakers devised a strategy aimed at creating a resilient energy system that would not fail as spectacularly as the existing grid during historical disasters.
In 2019, they enacted legislation aimed at transitioning from a system overwhelmingly reliant on fossil fuels for over 95 percent of its energy to one that would be entirely sustainable by mid-century. This ambitious initiative included strict mandates aimed at ensuring progress toward the 2050 goal, including a commitment to end all coal-fired energy production by 2028, alongside interim benchmarks for increasing renewable energy generation. The law, however, left it to the independent energy regulator to determine what proportion of the power mix would come from rooftop solar systems on homes and businesses versus large wind and solar farms still connected to the fragile grid.
Its rollout took years to gain traction, resulting in a surge in rooftop solar installations. By mid-2023, however, none of the extensive renewable energy projects approved by the energy regulator in 2020 were yet operational.
The plan has also failed to alleviate the issues associated with outages. Even once power is generally restored following significant failures, disruptions can persist for lengthy periods. Residents in municipalities such as Santa Isabel, Coamo, and Aibonito have continued grappling with the aftermath of a transformer malfunction from early June. The notable exception remains those fortunate enough to have installed solar power systems at their residences or businesses, or access to community microgrids.
On a drive through these hard-hit regions with Jorge Gaskins, president of the nonprofit Barrio Eléctrico, we discussed his initiatives to install solar and battery systems in hundreds of private homes. He showed me a residence in Coamo owned by José Rivera Espada, a retired member of the Puerto Rican Army National Guard. After directing us to park on the narrow rural road, Rivera Espada expressed gratitude for the solar and battery system, especially as his neighbors contend with yet another outage. With palpable pride, he showcased the rectangular white system bolted against an orange wall, indicating the blue and green lights confirming it was operational and the battery fully charged.
Such solar panels and batteries are essential in ensuring that Puerto Ricans are not left vulnerable to their unreliable grid, which Gaskins described as “a bottomless pit.”
The advantages of clean energy transition are evident during visits to Santa Isabel, profoundly affected by a range of emergencies, with around 20,000 residents and a median household income of just $22,680.
In 2022, Hurricane Fiona passed by the region, dumping over 30 inches of rain and overwhelming the electrical system, resulting in outages lasting nearly two weeks.
“All of this was underwater,” local residents repeatedly recounted as we traveled through Santa Isabel's streets.
Not far from a sculpture reading “I Heart SI”, a grey building trimmed in blue and surrounded by white fencing contains numerous crosses along its walls. Here, I met Keila M. Torres Méndez, a pastor leading the Iglesia Evangélica Unida de Puerto Congregación Jauca Santa Isabel. This church serves not merely as a place of worship but a sanctuary for the impoverished, aging community battling continuous power outages.
On the night the transformer failure initiated in June, distressed congregants packed into the church, benefiting from its solar energy system capable of accommodating needs during emergencies.
When outages occur, Méndez ensures that assistance is available — distributing bottled water and coffee while preparing hot meals such as arroz con pollo and salmon. Community members can store vital medical supplies, such as insulin, in the fridge and find a relatively cool environment in which to rest.
“When someone comes in asking for help, they never leave empty handed,” she said, seated near tables brimming with cans of beans and donations of shoes and books for those in need.
Another method to enhance renewable energy visibility can be found close to the church entrance, where one can gaze at the towering wind turbines of Pattern Energy’s Santa Isabel Wind Farm in the distance. The sight is awe-inspiring, with the towers coexisting among trees yielding plantains, bananas, and countless mangoes.
Additional renewable energy farms could play a significant role in fulfilling Puerto Rico’s clean energy objectives, assuming more can successfully launch. Besides the Santa Isabel wind facility, the Punta de Lima Wind Farm, damaged during Hurricane Maria, has resumed operations after being offline for over six years.
Yet, the establishment of such farms raises pressing, and contentious, inquiries regarding the energy transition: Can additional large-scale energy projects be developed without compromising agricultural land essential for food security in a territory that imports over 85 percent of its food? Should Puerto Rico even attempt this — given that fragile power lines will still be necessary to deliver this electricity to urban centers? Or should the focus shift towards enhancing the feasibility of rooftop solar systems on individual homes, reducing reliance on the grid? The advancement of rooftop solar systems has surged, quadrupling to almost 600 megawatts in a five-year period due to an incentive initiative, though its future remains uncertain.
Amid these discussions, Puerto Rico’s energy transition continues to progress at a sluggish pace, with many decrying the speed. Simultaneously, Governor González-Colón and other officials are pushing legislation to postpone or outright revoke the interim requirements while clean energy advocates express concerns that entrenched fossil fuel interests in Puerto Rico could further hinder progress by promoting natural gas instead of solar and wind sources.
An additional source of worry stems from the fact that much of Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure is currently under the management of private corporations.
While traveling on a highway in San Juan, I spotted graffiti conveying a resonant sentiment: “Fuck LUMA.”
Although Puerto Ricans may harbor varied opinions on numerous topics, including the debate surrounding its potential statehood, there is overwhelming consensus on LUMA — the entity responsible for controlling Puerto Rico’s electricity on behalf of PREPA — their resentment toward power interruptions remains unanimous, as do complaints about exorbitant electricity costs.
“This is an issue that has to be fixed,” stated Charles A. Rodríguez, the former president of Puerto Rico’s Senate and a former chair for the territory’s Democratic Party. “We are not happy with LUMA.”
When the lights went out in Old San Juan during my summer visit, social media erupted with grievances from residents, including statements from Bad Bunny, one of the world’s most popular musicians. In 2022, he released a mini-documentary titled El Apagon, or The Power Outage, fiercely critiquing the energy instability and broader issues of gentrification facing Puerto Ricans. He has persistently pressed for change, investing in billboard campaigns aimed at encouraging fellow Puerto Ricans to unseat the pro-statehood politicians he believes are contributing to the systemic issues.
Following the November elections, Bad Bunny took to X to advocate, “LUMA HAS TO GO.” After the New Year’s Eve blackout, he commented on Instagram, “This is how you spend New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico, without electricity. Normal.”
LUMA representatives acknowledge the frustration experienced by residents. Alejandro Figueroa Ramírez, the company's chief regulatory officer, stated that their “heads are down and focused” on addressing the challenges presented by the power grid.
Figueroa explained that the company took over an outdated system rife with vulnerabilities, requiring time to address all weak points.
“You can’t fix everything and get to where we all want to be in a small amount of time,” he remarked. “But there is hope in the sense that we know what needs to get done.”
LUMA has issued warnings that Puerto Ricans may face a difficult year ahead. In 2024, there were 34 days in a six-month span where LUMA had to enact power cuts in certain regions due to supply deficiencies. The company forecasts that this number may reach as high as 93 days during the same period this year, particularly if a major hurricane strikes or power shortages become more severe than currently anticipated.
LUMA contends that these specific outages are not their fault, attributing them to a lack of available supply to meet rising demand. The management of Puerto Rico’s older power facilities is the responsibility of another private entity, Genera, a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy. Genera has faced significant backlash over concerns it may perpetuate the territory’s reliance on fossil fuels by maintaining existing fossil fuel facilities. A spokesperson for Genera, Ivan Báez, stated the company is committed to retiring these plants, but they must continue their operations temporarily to ensure a consistent fuel supply.
Local leaders share little better than private companies when it comes to public dissent regarding Puerto Rico’s energy dilemmas. Discontent arises significantly from the corruption that has infected Puerto Rican politics — which many blame for the protracted delays in the distribution of federal funds following disasters.
At the same time, González-Colón and her party, the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista, have faced public criticism regarding the ongoing power outages, and allegations of corruption have surfaced against local officials. Just two months into her term, she has taken steps to assume control of the inconsistent energy grid, appointing an energy czar and forming an energy committee.
The unstable power framework, she shared with PMG Magazine, “is my main challenge.” She champions a multifaceted energy strategy that incorporates hydroelectric, solar, and wind power, along with storage solutions — though many of the specific initiatives she references lean towards natural gas.
“My concern is there are going to be blackouts and brownouts because of the lack of [power] generation,” she expressed.
Nevertheless, González-Colón does not wield ultimate authority over the territory’s fiscal matters. In 2016, Congress recalibrated its response to Puerto Rico's substantial $72 billion debt crisis by entrusting fiscal oversight to the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico, commonly referred to as La Junta.
When I asked Robert Mujica Jr., the executive director of the board, whether La Junta holds too much power, he responded, “That’s an interesting question.” He asserted that the board supports Puerto Rico’s renewable energy aspirations, despite simultaneously contesting a law extending solar incentives across the territory, all while diligently working to resolve the public utility’s bankruptcy so energy resilience initiatives can advance.
“If you want to grow the economy, you need to have an energy system that works,” he pointed out.
In Puerto Rico, Donald Trump frequently surfaces in discussions. The image of him tossing paper towels to a crowd during his post-Maria visit remains firmly etched in the memories of residents, crystallizing their perception of his disdain for their homeland.
In a largely symbolic exercise, given that their presidential votes hold no binding power due to Puerto Rico’s territorial status, 73 percent of Puerto Ricans cast their ballots in favor of Kamala Harris in the recent election, amidst a backdrop of support for a pro-statehood, pro-Trump gubernatorial candidate.
The looming prospect that Trump may retaliate for this pro-Harris vote by withholding the billions in unspent federal funding adds further tension.
In addressing potential retribution from Trump, the governor expressed minimal concern about a clawback, emphasizing, however, her grave worry that these crucial funds remain unspent, which she has directly communicated to the president regarding the urgency of Puerto Rico's energy situation.
Pablo José Hernández Rivera, who succeeded González-Colón as Puerto Rico’s congressional representative and collaborates with the Democratic caucus, is among those hoping that the governor's ties to Trump may yield benefits. After all, he noted, Trump congratulated González-Colón on her electoral win, and she attended his inauguration. The governor has pledged to work alongside the Trump-Vance administration, touting her personal relationships with top officials like EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“Having a Republican governor seriously reduces the possibility of [Trump] lashing out against Puerto Rico,” remarked Hernández, a member of the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party who opposes statehood.
Unlike climate advocates within the Democratic Party, Hernández does not perceive an advantage in challenging a Trump administration hostile to clean energy. While he supports supplementing renewable sources, he is prepared to accept the integration of “less desirable” fossil fuels to stabilize the grid and enhance affordability for Puerto Ricans.
Before departing Puerto Rico, I visited La Biblioteca Comunitaria de Villa del Mar in Santa Isabel, a library overseen by director Jacklyne Ortiz Vélez.
Ortiz Vélez has witnessed firsthand the fallout from Puerto Rico’s energy challenges. Together with a few volunteers, she strives to educate children and young adults aged 5 to 21 who have suffered significant educational setbacks due to frequent school power outages.
Seated amid rows of books in the compact library, she spoke tearfully about the children she serves, who struggle to comprehend why their families face such immense hardships due to power shortages and other issues. Many are depressed, she admitted, with some reaching a state of despair bordering on suicidal. Adults, too, come to her in tears when they feel overwhelmed, grappling with the inability to work and afford basic necessities due to ongoing power outages.
“That breaks my heart,” she said.
These youngsters will likely encounter far more power interruptions in the foreseeable future. As the island approaches another hurricane season, the potential for power outages could quadruple starting in May, plunging Puerto Ricans back into darkness once more.
This story was made possible through financial support from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
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