Puerto Rico’s power grid has faced repeated blackouts, with the latest outage hitting the island on April 16. The crisis has its roots in the colonial system, a vulnerable population, and chronic underinvestment in infrastructure.
The island’s power grid was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, leading to the largest blackout in U.S. history. Five years later, Hurricane Fiona caused another outage, affecting nearly 3 million people. The persistent damage is attributed to the lack of maintenance and a centralized system that makes it difficult for individual outages not to have widespread repercussions.
According to Laura Kuhl, a professor at Northeastern University, Puerto Rico’s debt crisis left the island unable to afford maintaining the grid. “In contrast, if Puerto Rico had a lot of renewable energy sources where generation was more distributed, even individual outages wouldn’t have those widespread repercussions,” she said.
The power company, LUMA Energy, has faced protests and financial problems. The company’s contract with the Puerto Rican government has been criticized, leading to calls for its cancellation. Governor Jenniffer González-Colón has stated that canceling the contract would be a slow process.
Climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and fiscal pressures have exacerbated the crisis. The grid is not designed to withstand natural disasters like hurricanes, making it vulnerable to damage.
The situation highlights the need for a more sustainable energy system and greater investment in infrastructure. As Cecilio Ortiz García, co-founder of the University of Puerto Rico’s National Institute of Energy and Island Sustainability, noted, “The grid has become the poster child of the decay of the colonial system, its institutions, and a very vulnerable population.”
Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/17/puerto-rico-power-outage-power-grid-problems/83137415007